Things Just Get Complicated Pt II
by Jenna's Rules
Summary: Not too long ago three strangers visited Blake Holsey High. Now, back in their proper time, they are in need of help. Everyone is surprised, however, when that help comes from a red head from 2004 FINISHED
1. Prologue

Things Just Get Complicated Pt. II

Summary: Not too long ago three strangers visited Blake Holsey High. Now, back in their proper time, they are in need of help. Everyone is surprised, however, when that help comes from a red head from 2004. Will Josie help the new Science Club, or will she only get herself stuck in the future?

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Strange Days at Blake Holsey high, the only thing I do own are my original characters. But thanks to the creator's for such a mad awesome show!

AN: Thanks to everyone who read the last one. Your reviews really inspired me to keep going, and to go on with this new story! So THANKS a jumble!

PROLOGUE

"So, in conclusion, I believe that Microne Industries -."

"Really, _really_ sucks?" Jovee Pearson asked, her head resting on her elbow with boredom. She had long dirty blond hair twisted in a complex braided bun atop her head. She was decked out in a school uniform, except she wore pants compared to the skirt.

"No," Nathaniel Penn replied with frustration. The Chinese boy had recently dyed his spiky, raven black hair to a glistening highlighter green. He wore khaki cargo pants, and a long-sleeved red shirt featuring Magnet 360. "I think they've gotten a hold of Pearadyne's old folders."

"We already knew that, though," Katrina Groh protested angrily. Her black hair fell into her blue eyes, forcing her to brush it back quickly. She had a natural golden tan, and was dressed in the traditional Blake Holsey skirt. She wore a dim pink shirt featuring a silly black cat known as 'Trouble', with matching pink stockings on her legs.

"He's not finished yet," Finley Wheeler said quickly. Finley hadn't changed at all in the four months since his trip to the past. His dark brown hair was still the same – well-trimmed and slightly spiked. As always he was in his school uniform. He took some chalk into his hand and began to draw a large diagram. His close friend, Douglas Randall, tilted his head to the side in confusion. Douglas hadn't changed too much, either. His reddish-brown hair, which curled a bit at his ears, hadn't bothered to be brushed that morning, and now had an interesting yet angular look to it. He'd forgotten a lot that morning, in a hurry to get to class, and as a result he wore jean shorts frayed at the bottoms, a simple white t-shirt under his uniform jacket, and a demerit - requesting him to attend an hour of detention for inappropriate school attire - in his pocket.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Wasting our time," Jovee replied.

"I wasn't talking to you," Douglas grumbled.

"Jovee, Douglas," Professor Z said warningly, looking meaningfully at the two. Despite a few pounds heavier, more bags under his eyes, and slightly grayed hair, Z was still the same.

"Just saying," Jovee said with a shrug.

"Alright," Finley said, stepping away from the board and looking it over thoughtfully. He glanced back at Nathaniel, who nodded his consent. "Nathaniel and I have noticed a pattern here. All we're missing is the key."

"Look Finn, enough beating around the bush already. Are you going to explain to us any purpose of that – slop on the board, or what?" Katrina demanded.

"We're getting to it," Finley said quickly.

"Take a look here," Nathaniel said, pointing to a part of the sloppy diagram. He drew a circle around. "We know that Victor Pearson and Sarah Lynch were responsible for taking control of the wormhole. We know your parents found the connection between our school and the projects at Pearadyne industries, and shut it down."

"So?" Jovee asked.

"So obviously when Collin Bush took the folders from your Dad, he learned about the wormhole and its experiments," Nathaniel filled in.

"Finley," Douglas started, looking frustrated and a little confused.

"Okay, okay," Finley said. "What we're saying is that in all aspects, the wormhole and the energy surrounding the school should _not_ be able to be molded."

Katrina sat up with realization. "Because it was all shut down."

"Ex_actly_!" Nathaniel said.

"So you're saying that somebody's opened it up again. That's impossible. Microne Industries doesn't have that sort of power," Douglas pointed out.

"Jovee, you knew how to control the wormhole," Finley said. The girl looked uncertain.

"Yea," She drawled. "But that was because Dad once mentioned the way to control the wormhole had been using thought - wanting to use it. We all know that I wasn't sure it would actually work."

"I think I see what you're getting at," Katrina said, standing up quickly and knocking her chair over.

"So do I," Z said with a frown.

Katrina quickly moved to the front of the room. "Microne had somebody who knew how to reawaken the energy in the school. Implying that -."

"That one of the science club members went to Microne," Jovee said softly.

"Or was blackmailed into going for Microne," Finley said quickly, noticing the strange look on Douglas' face.

"You think my Dad -."

"There could be many reasons for why he would help," Nathaniel said. "We have a couple of theories."

"My Dad wouldn't have betrayed us like that!" Douglas snapped.

"We all know that, Douglas," Professor Z said quickly. "Lucas always tried his hardest to do the right thing."

"And let's admit it, he was suspicious of everyone," Jovee pointed out. "Why would he willingly help an enemy?"

Douglas snorted. "My Dad _wouldn't_ help them … no matter what."

"That's what we're missing, Douglas. We need to know why. Someone's controlling the wormhole. Permitting entrance and exit. But the fact of the matter is _that_ energy which has been dormant for twenty-one years has been reawakened. Only someone who knew how to shut it down the first time could know how to reawaken it."

"Yes, but it took the entire science club to close out the energies last time," Z said.

"We may never know what happened the day your Dad went through the wormhole, Douglas. But you have to understand that _that_ was the same time everything wacky started picking up," Katrina said.

Douglas started for the door. "I don't have to listen to you guys think all these bad thoughts about my Dad. He didn't work for Microne."

"Douglas -."

Any comments were cut off by a beeping noise beside Z. He glanced over at the machine; everyone's eyes were on it. "The wormhole's being opened," Z said softly.

Everyone held their breath as the vortex jerked open and Josie Trent of 2004 stepped out. "Whoa," She said, holding her arms out uncertainly. Then she glanced around the room, taking in the reactions of the people before her. She grimaced. "Double whoa."


	2. Chapter 1

AN: Okay, besides this right here, and little notes reguarding the story, personal notes will be put under the reviews for the story, so when i'm replying to something you may have mentioned in your reviews, i'll be putting it all in a review, kk?

CHAPTER ONE

"Tell me I'm hallucinating," Katrina finally said, her arms crossed over her chest; eyebrows raised with interest.

"Douglas?" Josie asked, looking at the boy standing in the doorway. He stared, mouth agape, with utter shock. Then Josie's gaze turned around the room. "Jovee! Finley! Z?" At this she started laughing.

"Josie, how did you get here?" Professor Z asked, trying to hide his embarrassment at Josie's reaction.

Nathaniel moved up to behind Katrina. "That's Mrs. … that's Josie?" He said, seeming surprised.

"I came through the wormhole," Josie filled in. "So this is the future?"

Douglas hurried across the room, taking a hold of Josie's shoulders, and steering her back to the middle of the room. "Yes, it is. And now that you've seen the future, it's time to go back home. Goodbye."

"Hey!" Josie exclaimed, pulling out of his grip. "Why are you trying to get rid of me so fast? I want to look around a little bit before you shove me through that rollercoaster again."

"Bad idea," Katrina said quickly, moving beside Douglas, her eyes wide. "We, uh, we were just discussing a bunch of science stuff, you know? Nothing you'd find of interest. And you know, the future's not really all that great. So just move on through that wormhole, then."

"Guys," Finley said, shaking his head and gesturing for Katrina and Douglas to take a step back. "Z … maybe you should get Jovee's Dad on the phone. Explain the situation to him?"

"Bad idea," Jovee said. "Dad's gonna be out of town until tomorrow … remember? I'm guessing this never happened in your timeline, though, did it?"

"I vaguely recall something of this nature," Z said, wiping his glasses off on his shirt as he considered the situation.

"Excellent!" Douglas exclaimed. "So, what, she was here for … an hour? Two at tops?"

"Try a week," Z replied, meeting Douglas' eyes.

"That is _so_ not good," Katrina groaned.

"Are you seriously trying to tell me the wormhole won't open up for another week?" Nathaniel exclaimed.

"Great, so I get to stay," Josie said, a wide grin on her face.

"Not great," Douglas said. "What are we going to do with you?"

"She could stay at my place," Nathaniel suggested. Everyone in the room turned and gave him an odd look. He shrugged.

"Just a suggestion," He said slowly.

Katrina rolled her eyes, turning back to Josie. "Maybe you should stay in my dorm room for the time being. I have an extra bed."

"And how exactly do you propose we get her there without any of the teacher's seeing?" Jovee asked.

"Well she can't exactly stay at your place," Finley said. "Future consequences."

"You're completely right on the teacher thing, though. If a bunch of Josie's ex-teacher's see a … rather _young_ her around school, they _might_ just get suspicious," Katrina said.

"Well why would seeing where Jovee lives be a consequence to the future?" Josie asked.

"Good question," Finley said. "And we'll answer that as soon as I think of a really good explanation."

"Finn," Katrina grumbled, looking back at him.

"Z, when Josie came back, did she … mention anything?" Douglas asked nervously.

"No, nothing," Z replied. "Except that she was trapped in the future for a week until the wormhole opened up. She also mentioned she had something she had to do while she was here."

"So let's get in touch with my future self, and find out what," Josie said.

"No!" Everyone said.

"You … you can't," Douglas said quickly. "The phone's … disconnected."

"Disconnected?" Josie asked dubiously.

"You're in Europe!" Jovee exclaimed. "Business … bummer."

"I'm on a business trip … in Europe, but my phone's disconnected?" Josie asked.

Nathaniel cleared his throat. "I think you said the hotel you're staying in is being remodeled."

"Well where's Lucas? Or Marshall, Corrine?"

"What about Vaughn?" Jovee asked, sounding surprised.

"I don't care about Vaughn," Josie said quickly.

"That's right. At that point in time Vaughn was considered a traitor," Z explained. Josie gave him a funny look, but didn't say anything.

"Well that's not going to go over well," Katrina said.

"On to Josie's questions," Finley said, giving Katrina a dirty look. "Corrine and Marshall just went on vacation."

"In Europe?" Josie guessed, doubting everything they had told her.

"Eh … no. More like down South. It's really nice over there this time of year," Finley said.

"And Lucas?"

"Well that one's gonna be a little difficult to explain," Finley acknowledged.

"We're not exactly sure of Lucas' whereabouts," Z filled in quickly. "No one's heard from him in a while."

"Oh," Josie said, sounding disappointed. Then she grinned. "So is Principal Durst still around?"

"Principal who?" Nathaniel asked.

"She means Principal Lipschitz, and no. She retired last year, actually," Katrina said to Josie. "Z applied for the position to take her place, but we got Principal Eiley, instead."

"Nutty old man," Finley said with a nod. "Stares at you with those beady little eyes … yikes."

Everyone started laughing, and Josie had to laugh a little, too.

Finally Z's look turned serious. "I believe it would be an excellent idea for Josie to stay in Katrina's bedroom … so long as she keeps a low profile. It's hardly likely she will run into anyone she knew back in her time, anyways. Most teachers have moved onto different jobs."

"Are you sure?" Nathaniel asked. "What if, by some completely random chance, she runs into Dee?"

"Who's Dee?" Josie asked.

"My Mother," Jovee said quickly.

"They haven't known each other for as long as that. Dee would only think that maybe they were cousins or something," Finley explained.

"Right!" Z said, sounding excited. "She's Josie's second cousin from out of town, staying with Katrina until her parents come to pick her up."

Douglas frowned, and then turned to Josie. "You'd better be careful, then. Dee thinks your future self is a know-it-all, and you think Dee is a ditzy twit. We don't need any clash of heads while you're here, okay?"

"What do we call her?" Jovee demanded.

"Trent," Katrina said with a grin. "We'll just go after her last name."

"Excellent idea," Z said.

"Welcome to the future, Trent," Nathaniel said, patting Josie on the back.

They all started to laugh. "Alright," Finley interrupted. "Science club is usually over by now, anyways. Katrina, why don't you head with Josie up to your room, set her up with a change of clothes. The rest of us will continue on with our daily activities so there's no suspicion."

"I don't like this," Douglas said, giving Finley a sharp look.

"I don't think you get a choice in the matter," Jovee replied. The group started to leave the room, Jovee walking over to Douglas. "Ignore what they said earlier," She whispered in his ear.

"It's kind of hard to do that," Douglas grumbled.

She shrugged. "Well for all it's worth, I'm on your side."

"Thanks," Douglas said softly.

"Pearson!" Someone called from down the hall. Jovee's head shot up in surprise, as did Josie's. She turned back around and took in the scene as a muscular football player approached Jovee, seemingly angry.

"Pearson?" Josie repeated, sounding shocked.


	3. Chapter 2

AN: Okay guys, I'm not that great at dates and stuff. Well, I am, but I really didn't feel like putting much effort into this one. So if things sound off … just go with it, okay?

CHAPTER TWO

"Pearson?" Josie repeated, sounding shocked.

Jovee looked up, cautiously meeting Josie's eyes, before turning back to the football player.

"Yeah, Chuck?" She asked.

"I thought I told you to stop hanging around with that dorky science club," He grumbled. "And you missed practice again today. Your Mom's getting really frustrated."

"I'll take care of this," Katrina said, joining Douglas and Jovee. "Look, Jovee doesn't have to do _everything_ you tell her to. As for missing practice … it's _cheerleading_. How hard can it be to remember a few cheers? Besides, you two haven't been dating for a_ month_. Get over it!"

"This isn't any of your business, Groh."

"You starting trouble with my friends _is_ my business," Katrina said. She narrowed her eyes darkly.

"Katrina? Now's not a good time," Finley said quickly, nudging her away.

"You want a fight, Groh?" Chuck asked, leaning in to meet her eyes.

"When … and where?" Katrina inquired.

"Oh, cut it," Jovee snapped, moving the two apart. "No fighting. Last time Eiley caught the two of you starting trouble, we _all_ got detention. Now grow up."

"I want to talk to you," Chuck said, turning to Jovee and starting to move her away.

"I'm busy now. We'll talk later, okay?" She demanded. "Okay?"

"Fine," Chuck replied. He threw a dark look at Douglas and then Katrina before stomping off. Jovee rolled her eyes, turning back to the group.

"I don't see why you let that gorilla push you around," Katrina said.

"He's not pushing me around, Katrina," Jovee replied.

"Why did you say your name was Jovee Preston? Are you related to Vaughn?" Josie demanded.

Jovee crossed her arms over her chest. "I think it should be a little obvious as to why I said my name was Jovee Preston, and not Jovee Pearson," She said.

"Okay, enough talking," Douglas said, trying to move the two away from each other.

Josie looked her over, then her eyes lit up. "Your Vaughn's daughter, aren't you?"

Jovee's hands fell to her side, surprise filling her eyes. "I -. How'd you …?"

"Douglas is right," Katrina said quickly. "We're going to make a scene. Josie, come on."

"Is she, or isn't she?" Josie asked, not budging.

"I'll explain everything when we get to my room. Right now … people can overhear. Come on. Come on!" Katrina started nudging Josie along. The red-head followed her, glancing back at Jovee a few times. When the two were out of sight, Douglas shook his head.

"How are we expected to keep everything a secret?" He asked.

"Maybe we're not supposed to," Nathaniel suggested. "You know, Douglas, your Mom's kind of cool when she was our age."

Douglas gave him a funny look. "That's my Mom!"

Nathaniel shrugged. "Just an observation."

"That's gross!" Douglas exclaimed.

"Nathaniel, maybe you should just head back to your room and look over some of the stuff we talked about, okay?" Finley suggested.

"Yeah, yeah. I know when I'm creeping people out," He said, grinning at those before him before heading off with a quick bow.

"Sometimes I just wanna slap him," Jovee grumbled.

"What do we do?" Douglas asked, looking at her.

"I guess we keep to as much of the truth as we can. I don't really see how Josie knowing who I am will change things. My parents will still meet up; have Vinny, me and Vina," Jovee explained.

"You'd better hope Josie doesn't meet up with Dee, then," Douglas said.

"Oh please," Jovee said, rolling her eyes.

"Douglas -," Finley started.

His friend looked angrily at him. "I'm still mad at you," He said.

"You need to take everything into account, Douglas. Surely you must be seeing some reason in what we said," Finley said.

"No, I just a lot of discriminatory accusations," Douglas grumbled.

"Not another argument, guys," Jovee said quickly. "You've been best friends far too long to fight over this."

"He's not my friend," Douglas said. "A _friend_ wouldn't think my Father was a traitor."

"There is no use trying to get through that _thick_ skull of yours, is there?" Finley asked.

"Could you guys just pretend for at least a day that you actually get along?" Jovee asked. "How about a week, at least? You don't want Josie to wonder why you're not getting along, do you?"

"By the end of all this I'm sure she'll figure it out," Finley said, meeting Douglas' eyes.

"Finley, enough," Jovee said, now moving between the boys. "You're pushing it."

"I'm out of here," Finley said, glaring at the two before quickly moving off down the hall. Jovee sighed, and then turned back to Douglas.

"My Dad didn't help Microne, Jovee. There must be a different explanation for everything," He said sharply.

"I know, Douglas. I know," Jovee said softly. "And I promise you we'll figure that out."

"Thanks," Douglas said.

"No problem," Jovee grinned. "This doesn't change anything, though."

"I should hope not. You're still my enemy," Douglas pointed out.

"And you're still an elf," Jovee said, turning to walk away.

"You're never going to forget that whole incident, are you?" Douglas called after her down the hall.

"Nope."

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"Here, put this on," Katrina called, tossing a white velvet shirt over to Josie, and then reaching around for a pair of pants. "My clothes are gonna be bigger on you, of course, but if I could find a retro belt, it should be no problem."

"Thanks, I think," Josie said, looking down at the clothes uncertainly. "These aren't exactly my style."

Katrina tossed her a grin. "Me neither. Which is why I'm thrilled to get rid of them."

"Thanks," Josie said sarcastically.

"Just put them on. No one will ask questions if you blend in right."

"Where'd you get them, if they're not your style?" Josie asked.

"Birthday present … from Jovee. Said I needed to normalize myself a bit. Ha!" Katrina exclaimed.

"So, about Jovee -."

"There's no point in trying to hide it. Vaughn is Jovee's Dad. She has two siblings. Vinny, he's a senior, and Daveena, or Vina as everyone calls her, who's eleven. That's why we didn't think it would be such a good idea for you to stay over at her place. Not to mention Dee would probably have a fit if she saw you." At this Katrina started laughing. "You're going to really like it here. In the future, I mean."

"So I gathered that your name's Katrina Groh. What about the Chinese kid?" Josie asked.

"Nathaniel Penn. He's an extremely annoying genius who works with Finley to make the rest of us sound like idiots," Katrina explained.

Josie turned and looked at herself in the mirror, grimacing at the girly-girl look that she saw, before sitting down on the extra bed that she'd be using for the time being. "So tell me about my future self."

"Not gonna happen," Katrina said with a chuckle. She sat down on her bed, and studied Josie.

"Don't think I believe that Europe stuff," Josie said.

"Yeah, that's Jovee and Douglas for you. Completely random. Personally I would have gone with, 'out of state', and left it at that."

"I'm still around, though, aren't I?" Josie guessed.

"Sort of. But you can definitely _not_ get in touch with your older self. There would be severe consequences," Katrina explained.

"Do I at least have a cool job?" Josie inquired.

Katrina stood up again, pacing the room. "I personally don't find it that thrilling, but that's just because it's not really my thing. I guess a lot of other people would say it's intimidating."

"Cool," Josie said. "Hey, are those your CD's?"

"No!" Katrina exclaimed, jumping up and standing in front of the desk.

"I already saw it. Magnet 360, huh?"

"It's an old copy," Katrina said. She carefully pulled the CD out, looking at it. "One of the originals."

"Is Marshall still a member?" Josie asked.

"You should know I can't tell you that," Katrina said.

"I know, but it was worth asking," Josie said. "So maybe you could tell me about yourself."

Katrina looked back, a little surprised at the question. "Well … where to begin? I'm Katrina Groh. My parents are boring old business people who shipped me off to Blake Holsey Preparatory Academy in an attempt to get rid of me. I have an older sister, but I'd rather not get into that. I don't like authority well, I don't like cheerleaders, yet shockingly my best friend is one of them. Hmm … oh, and I'm in the tenth grade."

"Cool, me too. Except my best friend is a -."

"Know-it-all genius with an IQ of 172? So I've heard. Must be difficult living arrangements."

"You have _no_ idea," Josie said. "You know, right now I wish I could just talk to Corrine. She always has an answer. I'm sure she could help me."

"Maybe," Katrina said slowly. "But that's for another day if it comes to that at all."

"So … how far are we in the future, exactly?"

"You're twenty-five years in the future," Katrina said.

"Does Vaughn still live in his Dad's mansion?" Josie asked, trying to sound casual, but a bit of distrust slipped into her voice. Katrina simply gave her a look, to which Josie shrugged. "Since I already know about Jovee."

"Everyone's gonna have my butt for me telling you this much as it is. Next time? They'll know better than to stick time travelers with the girl who can't keep a secret."

"Is that a yes?"

Katrina started laughing. "Yeah, he lives nearby. Jovee lives over that way with her parents and sister. But her brother stays here. He and Vaughn don't communicate well."

"That's just how Victor was with Vaughn," Josie said, rolling her eyes.

"Really?" Katrina asked. "Tell me more about Victor. He sounds so … _intimidating_." However, the way she said it, he sounded almost thrilling rather than intimidating.

"He's not intimidating. He just tries to be," Josie replied.

"The way Vaughn went on and on about him," Katrina started, her eyes lighting up. "He sounded great. I mean, all he was working for – he went through losing his wife and his life's work all in the same day. Then he had to raise a child all on his own while trying to rebuild all that he'd lost. It just sounds so fascinating. I admire him."

"You shouldn't admire him. Victor is the _enemy_," Josie snapped.

"Look, I know you guys never got along all that well when he was still alive and everything, but -."

"Wait, Victor's passed on?" Josie inquired.

"Oh," Katrina said, quickly covering her mouth. "Guess I've always sort of had a problem with rambling."

"Who runs Pearadyne with Victor gone?" Josie demanded.

"Who says Pearadyne still exists?" Katrina countered. "To be fair, let's just drop this part of the conversation, okay? You're gonna have to figure all this stuff out on your own. There's no way I'm jeopardizing any future information."

Josie was half tempted to demand real answers from Katrina, but instead stuck to nodding her head with frustration. All the answers at her disposal, and yet no way of getting them. Didn't this sound familiar?

"Don't give me that look," Katrina said. "Douglas would have my head if anything got out."

"He seems very strict about future information," Josie acknowledged.

"Within reason. There's a lot going on here that you don't understand. Or, aren't entirely ready to understand, yet," Katrina said. The words echoed in Josie's head.

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The janitor looked up to the ceiling from the book he was reading. "She's arrived."

Someone stepped out of the shadows of the room and approached him from behind. "What if she doesn't manage to fix everything in time?"

"You know everything that's riding on this," The janitor replied.

"Exactly … perhaps I should go give my counterpart a friendly visit?" Josie 2 suggested.

"Not now."

AN: okay, I thought the janitor needed just a little bit more in this one than the little interaction in the first. Also, I wasn't too fond of the 'Josie 2' stuff in the show (don't get me wrong, it was pretty cool, but it also added a slight edge to the story line that I'm not sure I liked), so I'm altering it a little bit. They don't have a really important part in the story, though. Just a little more.


	4. Chapter 3

AN: Alright, got things fixed the best it's gonna be, so I can actually update!

CHAPTER THREE

DAY 1

Vaughn walked slowly into the underground layer of Pearadyne 2, looking around and observing all the progress that had been made since he'd been out of town. He stopped a few feet from behind the red-headed woman working at the table on the far right.

"Mrs. Randall," He said slowly.

Josie turned around, giving Vaughn an annoyed look, before quickly pulling off her gloves, washing her hands, and stomping over to her boss, her lips pursed. "Vaughn."

"What's wrong now?" He asked, following her out of the lab.

"Maybe you don't remember that oh-so friendly conversation we had two weeks ago about your wife actually having some sort of clearance before coming down here?" She demanded.

"Josie, she's not trying to cause any trouble," Vaughn said, rubbing at the bags under his eyes. "She's just curious."

"And for all you know, _she_ could be the one handing over files to Microne," Josie snapped.

"Dee wouldn't do that," Vaughn growled.

"Wouldn't she? I know you'll agree with me that she isn't exactly someone interested in science," Josie said.

"Well, no, it's not really something that keeps her attention, but she likes to know what I'm up to down here," Vaughn explained.

"She still needs clearance. She can't just waltz in here, make a point of being your wife, and then be able to look at everything we're working on. There are limits, Vaughn, and she's surpassed them," Josie snapped. "She came in here yesterday and was checking out the top-secret, off-limits section of our oh-so-lovely work place."

"Cut the sarcasm."

"Cut the trust," Josie retorted, turning sharply to look back at him.

"What do you want me to do? Tell my own wife she can't come down here?" Vaughn demanded.

"Yes, Vaughn, I _would_ like for you to do that. With your irresponsibility it's no wonder we're losing all our projects to Microne. You'd better start stepping down on security around here."

"How do I even know you're not the one helping Microne?" Vaughn asked her.

Josie looked at him, surprise registering on her face before she hid it away to glare angrily at her old friend. "Good question. How do you know it's not me?"

"Don't take it like that," Vaughn said. "I know its not you."

"How reassuring."

"Stop acting like a child."

"_I'm_ the one acting like a child? Do you care at all about establishment? Just fix the security, Vaughn. And talk to your wife. I'm going home," Josie said, putting her lab coat up on a rack and moving towards the door.

"You can't go home, Josie," He called after her.

Josie spun on her heels, looking darkly at him. "I have a sick child to take care of right now, Vaughn. I've worked everyday for the past three years without taking a day off – I'm taking it now. From this moment on? I'm going on a week-long vacation." She lowered her voice and her eyes. "Call me next Wednesday." With that she stomped out of the room.

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Not too far away, Josie's younger version sat up quickly in bed. She looked around, confusion pinching her features until she remembered the night before. "Right, the future," She mumbled to herself, slowly pulling the covers up over her head.

"Tired much?" A voice asked from behind. Josie sat up, meeting Jovee's eye.

"Why are you dressed?"

Jovee snorted. "Because it's twelve 'o' clock in the afternoon and I, amazingly, have school."

"So why aren't you at your lessons?" Josie asked.

"Because it's lunch, and _I_ was the one elected to come and get you," Jovee replied, her hands on her hips. Josie climbed out of bed, stretching quickly.

"We all eat lunch in Z's room," Jovee filled in, tossing Josie some clothes to change into. "Eiley's on lunch duty in the cafeteria today, so we snagged you something to eat. Don't forget your name's Trent, if anyone asks."

"I know the drill," Josie said, changing swiftly into the clothes. "Finished."

"Good," Jovee said, turning back around and nodding with approval. "That'll do."

"I feel like a Barbie doll," Josie replied.

"You look normal. Besides, skater-chick will be too suspicious. You're supposed to be a girl of modern times. Dressing like you did back then might make a few people who knew you think something's up," Jovee explained. "And you obviously can't wear uniform, because you're visiting."

Josie rolled her eyes. "So am I going to get a tour of the school today?" Josie asked, following Jovee out the door and into the hallway.

"No way. You are keeping an extremely low to non-existent profile, got it?"

"You can't keep me hiding out in Katrina's dorm for a week," Josie said.

"Why not?"

"You can't be serious."

"I am completely serious. This is different than a trip to the past, Josie. You could find things out that should not be found out. The structure of the world we know would then fall apart."

"Don't be so dramatic," Josie said.

"I'm being realistic. You already know about me. Fortunately that can't be altered too much. But there are some things that could be, and I don't want to see it happen," Jovee explained.

Josie nodded her head. "So what exactly does your Mom do?"

"She coaches cheerleading here," Jovee explained. Josie tried to choke back a laugh, but was unsuccessful.

Jovee gave her a dark look in return. "Is there something you wanted to say, Trent?"

"Nothing, I'm not surprised … Vaughn marries a cheerleader." At this she started cracking up laughing again.

"Will you lay off? At least I _see_ my Mom," Jovee snapped. Josie frowned. "_And_ I know my Dad. Looks like I've got more points in the parent's department than you."

"Take it back," Josie snapped.

"Sorry, can't take back the truth," Jovee said.

Josie grabbed her arm and pushed her against the wall. "Take it back."

Jovee narrowed her eyes. "We obviously don't get along. Therefore I propose we make any comments to each other, cross any line, and not have to take it back."

Josie let her go, continuing angrily down the hall; fingers clenched. She was happy just to find Z's room before Jovee could talk again. Inside the gang was discussing their days so far. Josie slowly sat down between Katrina and Douglas while Finley casually slid her a sandwich and milk carton. Jovee sat across the table with Finley and Nathaniel. The latter squirmed in his seat, before looking at Finley.

"So I was looking through some of our notes," He said slowly.

Everyone froze, and looked at him. Z curious, Jovee annoyed, Katrina cautious, and Douglas aggravated. Josie just seemed confused.

"What notes?" She asked.

Before anyone could reply, Douglas let out a loud sneeze, quickly covering his mouth. "Sorry, guys," He murmured, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket.

Jovee rolled her eyes. "I told you not to go home yesterday. Now you're sick."

"I _had_ to go home," Douglas said; his voice sounding a little muffled from the cold. "I'd left all my books there."

"You live near the school?" Josie asked, sounding surprised.

"My Mom's got a place over on the main street. Sometimes I head over there to get things, drop things off," Douglas explained.

"Must be nice," Josie said. Jovee winced a little while Douglas shrugged.

"Why? Most of the time I'm the only one there," Douglas said. "It's cool, though. Nathaniel and Finley usually come over and hang with me. Besides, my Mom is really good at her job. They need her there."

"What happened to your Dad?" Josie asked before she could think.

"He left them," Finley said, meeting Douglas' eyes. The boy took in a sharp, angry breath, but just nodded.

"He left. Simple as that," He said through clenched teeth.

"If it's any consolation, my Dad left us, too. When I was really little," Josie said.

"Hmm," Douglas said, not looking up.

Z cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should discuss our plans of what we'll do while Josie is here."

"She'll be staying in my room," Katrina pointed out.

"She can't go to classes with us," Nathaniel said thoughtfully. "Too risky."

"I was sort of hoping I could look around, try and see how the school's changed in the past twenty-five years," Josie said.

"How about while we're in classes she stays in Katrina's room, except for lunch where she meets us down here. Then once classes are over, each of us could take a day to hang around with her, show her around?" Nathaniel suggested.

"You don't really expect me to be stuck up in that room all day, do you?" Josie asked.

"It's possibly the safest idea," Douglas slowly agreed.

"I can show her around today," Katrina volunteered. "I'll take you to the football game."

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Jovee said.

"Why not?"

"She's thinking of Dee and Vinny. Dee's the cheerleading coach, and Vinny, Jovee's brother, is on the football team. It's sort of a family thing," Douglas explained.

"Yeah, but Vina would rather be caught dead than involved in anything like that," Katrina said with a laugh.

"The black sheep of the family," Finley said with a laugh.

Josie smiled at the way they spoke of the Pearson family. They seemed close, even if they weren't all involved in the same thing. "I'd like to see the Football game."

"We'll hide back in the bleachers. That way no one will see us," Katrina suggested. "It will be okay."

"I don't think this is a good idea," Douglas said.

"You went around and took in sights when you guys went to the past," Professor Z pointed out.

"Besides, we can't keep her locked away for a whole week," Nathaniel said.

"Why not? It would be better for everyone," Jovee said.

"Come on, Jovee, you're being ridiculous," Katrina said, her face disapproving.

"So are we going to the Football game, or what?" Josie asked.

"Sure we are," Katrina said with a grin.

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"I really don't like this," Douglas said, shaking his head.

"I hate to admit it, but Katrina's right. We really can't keep her locked away from society forever," Jovee replied, walking closely to her friend. There was a slight chill in the air, so both had their jackets held close around them. The two were stalking across the grounds of Blake Holsey, heading out to the main road where they would find the Randall house hold.

"I know," Douglas reluctantly admitted. "I'm just worried. What if she sees something that freaks her out?"

"Maybe in some strange way it's a good thing," Jovee tried to point out.

"What if she finds out about my Dad?" Douglas countered.

"She won't. It isn't as if she's going to hear about it from any of us, right?"

"You know how my Mom was when she was younger. She's curious, and she'll want to know as much as she can," Douglas said.

"She went back in time with my Dad to the seventies, remember? She was the one who had to remind him to keep quiet. I'm sure she understands the importance of with holding information," Jovee said.

"I hope your right," Douglas said.

"So are you going to start talking to Finley again soon? It's still a little weird filling in as best friend," Jovee replied.

"I just don't think I can really … trust him. You heard him yesterday – you even agreed with me."

"I did agree with you," Jovee said slowly. "I just think it's weird to act as go between with you two. And you have trouble holding a grudge."

"This is different. I can expect that sort of thing from you. Finley's been my best friend since we were in diapers. It's harder to let it go when he thinks my Dad was involved in stuff I know he wasn't," Douglas replied. He stopped at the back door of his house, stomping his foot against the mat before pulling out a key and opening the door. Together the two walked into the kitchen, stopping to pull their coats off and place them on the backs of a chair.

"Don't you have to get ready for the Football game?"

"In a little bit. I wanted to come with you, though. I can hardly remember the last time I was even in here. It looks different."

"Mom re-did the place a little bit a couple of months ago. A lot of the place reminded her of Dad."

"It looks better," Jovee said softly.

"Yeah, I guess it does," Douglas replied.

"Hey, you're home!" A voice called from the hall. Douglas jumped out of his skin, spinning around to look at his Mom.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Nice to see I'm wanted," Josie said, stepping further into the room.

"Hi Mrs. Randall. It's good to see you," Jovee said.

"It's been a while," Josie agreed. "What are you two doing here?"

"Douglas needed to get some cough medicine," Jovee replied.

"How's the cold?" Josie asked, leaning over and trying to feel her son's forehead. He shrugged away, flushing a bit.

"Mom! I'm fine, just a bit of a cough," He said. "How come you're not at work?"

"I took the week off," Josie said, turning away and strolling to the fridge, quickly pulling out a bottle of soda.

"You what? You never take days off," Douglas said, shocked.

"I got in a little argument with Mr. Pearson today, and I thought maybe I should just take advantage of the whole situation with a little time off."

"That's great," Douglas said through clenched teeth, a false smile on his face.

"Yeah, so I was thinking maybe we could go to the Football game today."

"No!" Douglas exclaimed. Josie gave him a confused look. "I really don't feel like going today."

"But Jovee will be cheering, won't you?" Jovee nodded her head. "Don't you want to be there to support her?"

"It's really fine, Mrs. Randall. Today won't even be an interesting game," Jovee said quickly.

"Alright," Josie said, unconvinced. "Where are Nathaniel and Finley today?"

"School work," Douglas replied. Josie studied him.

"You guys didn't get in a fight, did you?"

"No, no. They just have a lot of work to get done. Professor Brown gave them a big assignment – due tomorrow," Douglas said.

"Well I hope to see them sometime this week," Josie said.

"Yeah, sure."

"And how's Katrina?" Josie inquired.

"She's good. Same old, same old. So what was your argument with Mr. Pearson about, anyways?"

"Same old, same old," Josie said with a shrug, giving Jovee a quick look. "You guys want a snack?"

"No thanks," The two chorused.

"We should probably be heading back," Jovee pointed out.

"Yeah, just let me get that cough stuff," Douglas said, walking backwards towards the hallway, tossing a nervous look back at Jovee and his Mother.

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"Come on, run it in, run it in!" Katrina called, Josie chanting along with her. The Owls managed to fumble the ball, losing the possible point they could have gained. Katrina shook her head.

"I hate it when they go to make a point, but then just manage to mess it up," Katrina said, shaking her head. "At least Vinny seems to be playing pretty good today."

The two sat back down. "Could I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Is there anything going on between you and Finley?" Josie asked.

For a minute, Katrina seemed surprised. Then it disappeared, and a shocking light blush rose to her cheeks. "I don't know. He's my friend."

"But do you like him?" Josie pressed on.

Katrina frowned, her gaze falling across the football field. "Maybe. Finley's a bit confusing. In some ways I can just see him as my close friend. He's cute, I'll give him that. I'm not one for the relationship thing, though."

Josie nodded her head slowly, her mind drifting back to Lucas. Katrina suddenly frowned, looking towards the corner of the field where the cheerleaders were. "I hate when Dee gets into her coaching mode. It's disgusting."

"That's Vaughn's wife?" Josie asked, gazing at the beautiful blond standing in front of the cheerleaders, preparing the next cheer. "She looks just how I'd pictured her to look."

Katrina tried to hide a smirk. "I think that was exactly your reaction when you found out about the engagement."

The two started laughing.

"Josie?" The red-head looked up with surprise to see an older man in his late thirties looking down at her. He looked familiar, but Josie couldn't exactly place him.

"Mr. Pearson, what are you doing here?" Katrina asked with surprise.

"I came to see the game. What's _she_ doing here?" Vaughn asked.

"Wormhole," Josie said with a shrug.

"How much does she know?" Vaughn asked, looking at Katrina.

"Just little stuff, sir. Oh, she knows all about your family, but that's it," She said.

"I don't believe this," Vaughn said, slowly sinking into a seat.

"_I_ don't believe this," Josie said. "I thought seeing Z was weird, but looking at you," She couldn't hide the laughter. There was a wrinkle or two in Vaughn's face, his hair was darker as well. In all actuality he still looked rather attractive, but he was older than Josie, and the idea was difficult to deal with. So she just started laughing. This trip to the future was going to be rather amusing.

AN: I know I should have put more with Vaughn, but I'm too tired right now, so I'll update tomorrow, okay?


	5. Chapter 4

AN: ha ha. I doubt this is important, but it's sort of interesting. Today in French class my teacher gave us a list of words that aren't normally in the text book, but are sometimes on the regents, and one of them was Avenir, which means Future. I just thought it was funny, because of Mr. Avenir in 'Past', and how he seemed to know so much about the future, lol. Anyhoo, here's your update!

Oh, and another thing. My brother pointed this out to me, so to get things straight; I did not name Katrina after the Hurricane. Although I'd like to express my sympathies to everyone down there.

CHAPTER FOUR

DAY 2

Josie darted around the corner of the old school, her mind racing at all the new editions to the school. Right now she was supposed to be upstairs in Katrina's room, but she had snuck out and was now wandering the school, giving herself the tour she'd yet to be given. There were at least five new halls; giving Josie the impression that possibly someone had given a very generous donation to the old school. She didn't need to think too hard about who it may have been. Thinking of Vaughn, Josie allowed her mind to drift back to yesterday's football game. She hated to admit it, but by the way Katrina had acted around Vaughn, he seemed like the good guy. And when Josie and he got the chance to talk, he didn't seem anything as she'd expected. Granted, there were times when she could just picture Victor Pearson being the one she was speaking with. Maybe not in appearance, but just the way Vaughn spoke had sounded just like something Victor would say. They hadn't spoken too much throughout the game, but Vaughn had asked she and Katrina, along with the others who eventually showed up, back to his house for a dinner.

They had to decline. The others had to do their homework, and in all honesty, Josie wasn't sure she was ready to return to the Pearson house. From what Josie could gather, Vaughn had matured. Not only in appearance, but he really seemed to be controlled, knowing what to put his energy into and what not to. However, Josie couldn't help but notice the similarities between Vaughn and his son, Vinny. Although she'd only seen the way the two acted from a far, she could almost see that things were reversed. Vaughn tried to communicate with his son, but Vinny seemed to want nothing to do with him. Even if in her time she was mad at Vaughn, didn't mean she had any obvious reasons to be mad at him now. So as she explored the school, she decided she was going to try and patch things up between Vaughn and Vinny … somehow … while she was also trying to lay-low. Maybe this would be harder than she'd expected.

She turned another corner, and ended up bumping into the woman in front of her. "Oh," She managed, before looking up. Her eyes widened with surprise as she caught a glimpse of the face that was now focused on making sure all her books were there. When the woman finally looked at Josie, she frowned.

"Do I know you?" She asked.

"I – I," Josie said. How exactly had she managed to run into Vaughn's wife? The woman looked at her patiently, her facial expression giving away the fact that she was trying hard to connect Josie's face with a name.

"I don't believe I've seen you around school. Are you a new student?"

"Nope," Josie said quickly, managing to recover her wits. "Name's Trent. I'm visiting my cousin from out of town. And you are …?"

"Professor Pearson. And I wasn't aware of any visitors. Did Principal Eiley authorize this?" She asked.

"Of course he did," Josie said quickly. "He doesn't remember, though. He seems very forgetful."

Dee Pearson started laughing. "Sounds just like Principal Eiley. I'm sorry, I'm probably keeping you."

"No, I wasn't really going anywhere in particular. Mind if I walk with you?"

"Not at all." The two started walking in the opposite direction. "Tell me, Trent, where are you from?"

"Hamilton. I live with my Mom. I thought you were the cheerleading coach?"

"You saw that, huh? I teach English literature, but it's my free period now. Are you enjoying your stay here?"

"It's been interesting," Josie said.

Dee tossed her another thoughtful look. "You look just like someone I know. I just wish I could figure out who," She said, shaking her head. Then she simply laughed. "I'm sure it will come to me later tonight."

"So, Pearson. I think I've heard that name around the school," Josie said.

"Oh, two of my children attend Blake Holsey," Dee stopped outside a door, and Josie quickly opened it for her, revealing an empty English room. "Jovee, and Vinny."

"The quarter-back at last night's game? He seemed to be the only one who knew what he was doing," Josie said.

"He gets that from his Father," Dee said with a laugh. She put her papers down, and then looked back at Josie. "You seem so easy to talk to, Trent. Is that your first name, or your last name?"

"Last. My first name is … Jade. Jade Trent," Josie lied. It was the first name she thought of.

"I always loved that name," Dee said with a grin. "I wanted to name my first daughter that, actually. But my husband insisted on naming her Jovee – it rhymes with her godmother's name. Jovee is such a great girl. She takes after her Father _so_ much. I wish I could say the same for Vinny, though."

"He doesn't get along with his Father?"

"No, not really. Vinny doesn't want any part of his Father's business. It's a shame, the two seemed so similar. Then a few years back Vinny changed." Dee laughed. "Look at me go on about my children to a student, no less. I must be boring you."

"No, I find it interesting," Josie said, her eyes lighting up as she took a seat at a table. It _was_ interesting. Douglas had mentioned her older self didn't get along too well with Vaughn's wife, but so far Josie found her not as ditzy as she had expected. And how come no one had mentioned the fact that Mrs. Pearson was a teacher? "How long have you been teaching here?"

"Not too long," Dee admitted. "Two years."

"Oh, so you knew Principal Dur- ah, Lipschitz?" Josie asked with interest.

"Oh yes. She and my husband were very close," Dee said with a small smile. "He went here, you know - when he was younger."

"Really?"

"Mm hmm. Amanda Lipschitz is like a grandmother to the children, actually. She's so kind and friendly. It's a shame she never had children of her own."

"Yeah," Josie agreed softly.

Dee glanced up at the clock, pursing her lips. "Classes are going to end soon. You should probably go find your cousin," She said.

"Oh!" Josie exclaimed, looking at the clock. "Right." She turned back to Dee. "You wouldn't happen to know how I could find my way back to the girl's dorms, would you?"

"Take a right when leaving the room, and just go up the stairs. There's an adjoining hallway," Dee called over her shoulders.

"Thanks," Josie murmured, slipping out of the room. "It was nice meeting you!"

"You too!"

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"So I found out about the fight your Mom and my Dad had yesterday," Jovee said, walking quickly beside Douglas. Katrina looked at her with confusion. It was just the three of them heading back to Katrina's room to release Josie from her 'prison' and give her that tour of the school she'd been asking for. Nathaniel and Finley had stayed behind to speak with Z, much to Douglas' relief.

"What argument?" She asked.

"When we went to my house yesterday my Mom said she and Mr. Pearson got in a fight, and she decided to take a week off," Douglas explained.

"That's not good," Katrina said with a wince.

"You're telling me," Douglas said. "What if she chooses to stop in at the school?"

"Better hope she doesn't," Katrina replied.

"Guys, talking here? So anyways, I guess they were arguing about the security at Pearadyne," Jovee said, kicking her booted foot at an empty soda bottle lying on the floor. Katrina bent down, picking it up and tossing it in a nearby recycle bin, before giving Jovee a dirty look.

"Security, huh?" Douglas asked.

"Yeah, I heard my Dad talking with this guy on the phone. Apparently some really important documents went missing when he was out of town, and Mrs. Randall thought it might have been my Mom," Jovee said.

"We've already covered that. There's no way Dee's a traitor," Katrina said.

"I know, but I think Mrs. Randall was just stressed. Dad says she's been out of sorts for a few weeks now, becoming suspicious of anyone and everyone," Jovee replied.

"Ouch," Katrina said. "Maybe a week off is good for her."

"Maybe," Jovee and Douglas agreed.

"Does anyone else think it's a little weird that we don't call Mrs. Randall Josie?"

"Not really," Douglas said. "I call her Mom."

"Mrs. Randall just … fits her better," Jovee said with a shrug.

"Yeah, but …" Katrina stopped; glancing at Douglas, but then went forward with her words anyways. "She's not even technically married anymore."

Jovee let out a frustrated snort while Douglas just stiffened. "Not now," She mouthed. Katrina shook her head, but went along with it.

"Change of subject," Jovee said. "What did you get on the Math test?"

Katrina rolled her eyes. "72. I swear Mr. Lutz has it in for me."

"Well if you didn't bother to start a debate with him about the real importance of Math on the _first day of school_," Douglas said with a smirk.

"Come on! There's no way I'm going to actually – _willingly_ – get myself involved with Math in my future. It's so not my thing," She said with a little laugh.

"You're just lazy," Jovee accused.

"Maybe," Katrina agreed with a grin. "So have you put any thought into your major?"

"Why are you so worried about your majors?" Douglas asked.

"We have to choose a major we're most interested and research it. Then we have to give a presentation, describing what we found out, and how we feel about it now that we know more," Jovee explained.

"Ooh, sounds fun."

"It isn't," Katrina said. "Try having no idea _what_ you want to do. Can't I just … do nothing?"

"Aren't we productive," Douglas said.

"Ha ha."

"I already know I'm going to go work in the labs," Jovee announced.

"That's it? Just like that you decide you're going to follow through with the whole 'three generations of Pearson's' business?" Douglas asked.

"I've been thinking about it for awhile, actually. I want to know more about the work that goes on down there. It all sounds so interesting," Jovee explained.

"Yawn," Katrina said. She stopped in front of her bedroom door, and quickly opened it, stepping inside with the duo behind her.

Douglas' eyes lit up with fear. "Why isn't she here?" He demanded, turning to Katrina, who just shrugged.

"Seeing as she's not here, and the door was unlocked, I'm guessing she decided to take a stroll," She replied.

"She's not allowed to do that!" Douglas said.

"Chill," Katrina said, walking over to her desk and flipping through her CD's. "She'll be back."

"What if she got lost?" Jovee demanded.

"How could she get lost? She went here when she was our age."

"There have been new additions to the building since then!" Douglas exclaimed.

Katrina stared at him, jaw slightly dropped, before she grunted. "Nobody tells me anything anymore!"

Before anyone could reply, the door burst open, Josie stopping in her tracks. "Oh."

"Close the door and get … in!" Douglas snapped.

"That sounds familiar," Josie said, thinking back as she closed the door behind her.

"What were you doing?"

"I was just looking around," Josie replied. "I ran into your Mom. Why didn't you tell me she was an English teacher?"

Jovee blinked. "It never came up," She said.

"She's cool," Josie said.

Katrina fell back on her bed, cracking up laughing. "There's _no way_ those words just came out of Josie Trent's mouth," She said through her fit of giggles.

"Are you trying to tell me that you saw Dee … that you _talked_ with her, but she seemed okay with you?" Douglas asked with disbelief.

"Well she said I looked familiar, but she didn't clue anything together. So how come we don't get along in this time line."

"Ah!" Douglas said. "Future consequences."

Katrina's eyes got bigger as she took in an annoyed breath, and then let it out again. "You _really_ need to cut that out."

She seemed about ready to answer Josie, when Jovee leaned over Douglas and looked closely at his ears.

"Wha – what are you doing?" He asked.

"Are your ears … pointy?" She asked with surprise.

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Josie 2 turned back to the janitor, a light smile on her face. "Everything seems to be settling in nicely. We shouldn't have any problems."

"Don't speak too soon," The janitor murmured, turning back to cleaning the dirty wall.

AN: And the craziness begins. Mwahahahaha. Thanks for reading, guys!


	6. Chapter 5

AN: God, I am _so_ sorry. Things have just been wacky and … I'm sorry. Anyhoo, here's the update.

CHAPTER FIVE

DAY 2, PT 2

Katrina sucked in a deep breath while Jovee's face scrunched up, and she gave the ear a flick. Douglas' hand quickly clamped around the offending ear, and turned to give Jovee a dark look. "What's the matter with you? You just flicked my ear!"

"Thank you Captain Obvious," Jovee said sarcastically. "Katrina, take a look at this. Remind you of anything?"

"What are you guys going on about? So he has pointy ears," Josie said, looking slightly annoyed.

"Oh, dude," Katrina said, looking at Douglas' ear. "It looks just like that time when you turned into an -."

"_DON'T_ go there," Douglas hissed through clenched teeth.

"Elf?" Jovee suggested, trying to hide her giggles. Katrina didn't bother, and in a few seconds she was bursting out laughing. Josie just smirked.

"You turned into an elf once?" She asked, seeming amused.

"No!" Douglas exclaimed, backing away from the group. Then he turned his accusing eyes on Josie. "You're trying to change the subject! You're not going to get out of this that easily," He told her.

"This is serious, Douglas," Jovee said disapprovingly.

"I know its serious! She shouldn't be wandering around the school -."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it. What if it's possible that you're turning back into an elf?" Jovee demanded.

"Oh god," Katrina said. "I hope not. The consistently cheerful singing and dancing was scary."

Douglas' face turned a bright shade of pink, and chose wisely to remain silent.

"How did he turn into an elf in the first place?" Josie asked.

"He was feeling really depressed one day, and he just sort of … turned into an elf," Jovee explained.

"Slowly!" Katrina added. "The change took a little while."

"No it didn't," Jovee and Douglas chorused.

"It took two seconds."

"Oh," Katrina said. "I must be thinking of that time when Mr. Pearson came to visit the school, and the pressure to pass that big test thing in Z's class caused you to turn all of us -."

"What's past is past!" Jovee said quickly.

"Oh sure, we can forget your situation but you have to bring up mine? And I'm not turning into an elf again … I feel fine! You're worrying over nothing. My ears are just naturally a little pointy," Douglas said.

"Are you sure?" Jovee asked, seeming uncertain.

"I'm fine. Really! Now let's focus on the task at hand," Douglas said, turning to Josie. Katrina just turned him back.

"You really need to chillax. You'll put yourself in an early grave if you don't just take in a few deeps breath, and stop stressing!"

"Didn't your Mother ever teach you to have a good time?" Josie added. All three gave her a funny look, but Douglas quickly shook his off.

"Fine, fine. I'll try not to hassle you about the whole future consequences thing, okay?" He said.

"That sounds good," Josie added.

"So … you still up for a tour of the school?"

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Finley shook his head with frustration. "Nothing! Zip, nada … not even a tiny hint," He said with frustration. Professor Z looked pensive, while Nathaniel simply watched the whole exchange.

"We need Lucas," Professor Z finally said. "If we could just find some way to contact him …"

"_No_thing's _worked_!" Finley fumed. "No matter what we've tried, there's no way to contact Lucas, no way to bring him back, and no way to control that part of the wormhole! It has a mind of its own now. We need to find a way to handle the situation the best we can without him."

Nathaniel studied his friend's face. "You don't mean any of that," He said thoughtfully. "You're just angry at Douglas for not even considering our theories."

"Maybe," Finley admitted, sinking into a chair.

"Give him some time," Z advised. "He'll get over it eventually."

"It's just hard," Finley said. Then he shook his head. "We need to stay focused. With the others off with Josie, now's the perfect time to run through some ideas."

"Finley and I have been thinking," Nathaniel cut in. "Without Lucas we obviously have no lead as to what went on that day. Now with Microne taking more of Pearadyne's projects, things are going to start to get really hectic."

"Wait, Microne has gotten more files?" Z asked.

"Yeah, Jovee mentioned it earlier today. They took some stuff when her Dad was out of town. Mrs. Randall thinks they have a spy in the labs," Nathaniel explained.

"This should be interesting," Finley said, sitting back in his seat. He couldn't help the smug smile from rising to his face.

"Back on track," Nathaniel said quickly. "I'm thinking we need to get someone into Microne."

Both Z and Finley shot Nathaniel disbelieving looks. "You can't be serious," Finley finally said.

"We need to find out what they're up to," Nathaniel said in his defense. "If we can get someone on the inside, we can find out exactly what they're up to. What they're doing with the wormhole."

"To do that, though, we'd have to get in touch with Collin Bush," Finley said.

"Not necessarily," Z replied slowly. "Perhaps you and Nathaniel can find your way in."

"Its top secret," Finley said, rolling his eyes. "I think it's going to be a little difficult getting in. Kids wandering around the facilities would be awfully suspicious."

"Vaughn and Corrine had no trouble getting into Pearadyne years ago," Z pointed out.

"Key words there: 'Vaughn and Corrine', and 'years ago'. Security has been upgraded quite a bit since then," Finley pointed out.

"Well, I figure we contact Collin Bush, tell him we remember him from his demonstration at the school last year, and we were interested in getting an inside view of the way Microne works - for a school project."

"He'd never buy it," Finley said.

"It's worth a shot," Nathaniel argued. "If we try nothing, then we're just giving in."

"We'll alert ourselves to them."

"I doubt a bunch of teenagers are suspicious," Nathaniel said, rolling his eyes.

"Jovee will want to come," Finley pointed out. "I think Vaughn Pearson's daughter would be a little suspicious."

"So we don't tell her - or the others. Z could act as our representative from the school. Just the three of us will go. We can schedule a tour for Saturday," Nathaniel filled in.

"Better yet," Z said. "We can schedule a class tour for Saturday, and with them distracted, the two of you could go off and try to find something," Z said, his eyes wide with the idea.

Finley seemed uncertain. "It would be a good distraction," He said slowly.

"I'll get Mr. Bush on the phone right now," Z said, sounding excited.

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DAY 3

All conversation died as soon as Douglas walked through the classroom door the next morning. The boy looked around, and then quickly hung his head, pulling his backpack tighter as he moved to his desk. It was early in the morning, and most kids were at breakfast, but Douglas felt the need to speak with Professor Z urgently. Unfortunately, Nathaniel and Finley had both decided to meet with Z before school to discuss their plans for the next day. Josie also had a desire to speak with Z, after an unusual dream last night which had her fearing she would never find a way back home. Katrina was there with Josie, and Jovee had apparently come when no one else showed up for breakfast. Z himself was not in the room.

"You shrunk," Jovee finally said, pointing out the obvious. Douglas' head snapped up, and he looked darkly at her.

"How'd you manage to figure _that_ out?" He demanded angrily.

"Well I think the fact that your pants are suddenly too big for you, and they're actually swarming at your heel -." Douglas glanced down at his pants, a quick flush rising to his cheeks as he gave the belt that was hardly holding them on a sharp jerk. "_And_ you're shorter than Josie," Katrina finished.

The redhead gave her a sharp look, to which she ignored.

Jovee walked quickly to her friend's side, and tugged his hat off, revealing long, pointed ears. "How interesting," She said.

Douglas snatched the hat out of her hand and threw it back on his head. "Go ahead, say it."

"I just did," Jovee said.

"So you're turning into an elf again," Nathaniel said, nodding his head.

"I am not!" Douglas exclaimed. He suddenly shrunk another two inches. He groaned, and allowed his head to fall onto the desk.

"At least he's not cheerful," Katrina pointed out.

Finley glared at her. "This is serious. We can't deal with him turning into an elf again," He said.

"I _told_ you there was something suspicious about your ears," Jovee said.

"Have you been feeling depressed lately?" Nathaniel joked. Finley quickly elbowed him.

"There has to be a way to fix this," He said.

"I'm still in the room, you know," Douglas mumbled from the table.

"How'd you fix it last time?" Josie asked.

"We helped Douglas to realize he wasn't small … at least not in the way he was thinking of himself," Katrina said with a giggle.

"So just do it again," Josie suggested.

"Don't bother," Douglas said quickly. "I'm not feeling depressed."

"It's worth a try," Jovee told him. Then she looked around the room at the others. "Let's just give it a shot. Uh, Douglas, you're very easy to talk to. And you always seem to know things."

"You're fun to be around," Finley admitted.

"This reminds me of the time Marshall became invisible," Josie said.

"Dad became invisible!" Finley exclaimed with surprise. "How come nobody ever told me that?" Everyone in the room stopped and stared at him.

"Brilliant, Finn," Katrina finally said.

Josie just blinked. "Oddly enough, I had a feeling you were related. You _are_ Marshall's son, right?"

"Eh …"

"It's only been three days, and you just blurted," Douglas said, shaking his head before he started coughing.

Jovee shook her head, and patted him gently on the back. "You're still sick, aren't you?"

"Add this onto everything else, and we're going to have ourselves quite an interesting four more days," Nathaniel said. At that moment, Z decided to come in.

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Professor Z looked around his classroom later that day, acknowledging the bored looks on his student's faces. Most of the kids were half asleep, Douglas among them. Only Finley and Nathaniel seemed to really be paying attention to the lecture, and that was because they were entertaining themselves with a game of tic tac toe. He cleared his throat, and straightened up.

"Since we are studying the scientific process, I thought it might be an interesting idea to go and visit an actual science lab, see how they work," Z said slowly. Everyone looked dully at him.

"We're not going to Pearadyne Labs, are we?" A student in the far back asked.

"No, Tucker, we'll be taking a trip to Microne Labs," Z filled in.

Douglas' eyes widened in disbelief. "_What_?" He exclaimed, jumping up. The whole class burst out laughing. He quickly sat down, his face burning. Z shot him a warning look before continuing.

"There we will observe the way things work, and I expect all of you to take notes, because we will be writing a report about this."

"Have you been conversing with Satan himself?" Douglas demanded.

"Douglas, please calm down," Z said.

"He's finally lost it," Tucker murmured, the girl beside him nodding her head in agreement.

Douglas slowly relaxed into his seat, shooting glares at Z, all the while trying to process why the professor could possible suggest something like this. Z continued on to explain when they were to meet for the bus, and what to bring, details on the reports, etc.

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Douglas waited until the classroom was mostly cleared out, before stalking up to Z's desk, slapping his palm down. "Would you mind telling me what you are _thinking_?"

Finley and Nathaniel stopped, watching the exchange between Z and Douglas.

Z turned, looked at the two and nodded. Neither seemed to like it, but they left the room. Z then turned back to Douglas. "While we're on the trip, Nathaniel and Finley are going to sneak away, and try to gather some information," He explained.

Douglas' eyes widened in surprise. "But that … that's going too far. You're stepping right up to their level!" He exclaimed.

"I know," Z said, sounding uncertain. "But time's running out. There doesn't seem to be any other way."

"There has to be another way," Douglas said.

"I wish there were, but you have to understand we don't have a choice. Things are getting out of control, and somebody has to do something about it," Z told him.

"But why does it have to be us?" Douglas demanded, panic seeming to rise in his voice. "Why should it have to be our responsibility?"

"Sometimes you have to give everything up to make things better," Z said softly.

"It should have ended then," Douglas told him. "This never should have begun."

"I know. We can straighten this out, though," Z replied.

Douglas was silent for a few moments, considering Z's words. Then he nodded. "I want in."

"You'll have to get Finley and Nathaniel to agree."

"Not a problem." Douglas turned to leave the room, but Z called out.

"Are you shorter?"

Douglas gave a nervous laugh. "I've wanted to talk to you about that, Z."

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Nathaniel leaned against the counter in the science lab later that afternoon, watching Finley pace back and forth. "You're making me dizzy," he commented.

"Douglas is crazy," Finley replied. "It can't be done. Three students sneaking off? Two was dangerous enough, but three? It will call too much attention," He said.

"So I'll stay behind and Douglas will go," Nathaniel replied. Finley froze; his head spinning back to look at Nathaniel.

"What!"

"You heard _exactly_ what I said."

"You must be out of your mind."

"Come on, you two can't act like this forever. You're best friends," Nathaniel said.

"He's the one who won't talk to me," Finley pointed out.

"You didn't have to nudge him on. You've been pushing the whole 'Lucas' thing for weeks."

"Douglas won't accept that we're right. He _knows_ Lucas was behind this whole thing."

"You didn't have to stress that it was on purpose," Nathaniel said.

"It doesn't look any other way!" Finley snapped.

"You're turning on him. Do you have any idea how that must seem. I think _you're_ the one who won't run through other options." Then he held his hands up before Finley could reply. "I don't want to start an argument with you. I just think that maybe you could _try_ to patch things up with Douglas."

"Even if I wanted to, it's not that easy."

"He's giving you the ball. He agreed to everything, he's willing to work with us. What more are you looking for?" Nathaniel asked.

"I want my best friend back," Finely said softly, collapsing in a chair. "I just wish everything could go back to normal. If Lucas had never gone through the wormhole, nothing would have changed."

"We wouldn't have become friends," Nathaniel pointed out.

"The only good that _has_ come from this whole mess is the friendships we've made. And … possibly more," Finley said.

"Katrina," Nathaniel said with a wolfish grin.

"Forget I said anything," Finley said with a laugh. At that moment there was a knock at the door. Sheepishly, Douglas walked in. As soon as the two saw him, they began to howl with laughter.

"It's not funny," Douglas snapped, moving quickly to the table. He was now half his normal size, and in some ways resembling a kid. "We need to do something about this situation … and soon. - unless you want me cheerful and singing."

"It would be a welcomed change," Finley choked out. Douglas simply glowered.

"I'm asking for your help," Douglas said.

"Alright, alright," Finley said, shaking his head. "Don't want you drawing too much attention … again. Let's see. Telling you what we thought of you didn't seem to work."

"Yeah, that only revealed more to Josie," Nathaniel said.

"Speaking of Josie … where is she?" Douglas asked, sitting up.

"She, Jovee, and Katrina said they were going to hang out. Back to the problem at hand," Finley said with a frown.

Nathaniel looked between the two with an idea, before sliding towards the door. "I think I'm going to go get a drink."

Both shot him surprised looks, but before either could object, he'd slid away. Douglas slowly looked back at Finley.

"So …" He said slowly.

_I can't believe he left_, Finley thought angrily, still glaring at the door while Douglas was thinking mainly the same thing.

Douglas quickly cleared his throat. "Back on track."

"Right," Finley said. There was an awkward silence, and then, "I'm sorry."

The comment was such a surprise, Douglas gawked at him. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry," Finley repeated, making his voice louder. "I shouldn't have pushed you so hard about your father. I know it's a difficult subject for you, and it wasn't fair of me to try and -."

"It's okay," Douglas said quickly. Finley gave him a doubtful look, and Douglas shrugged. "Alright, it's not _okay_, but I think I see where you're coming from."

The two gave each other a nervous smile, neither noticing as Douglas seemed to grow an inch.

"And I'm sorry about not considering other options. Maybe there was something else going on the day of the wormhole. If we look at it, he may not have even been involved. He could have been just a bystander," Finley suggested.

"He was involved … somehow," Douglas said with a sigh. "I just can't believe he would willingly betray my Mom like that."

"I don't think he would either," Finely said slowly. "Your parents were too close."

Douglas nodded his head. "Did, eh, did Z talk with you about -."

"Nathaniel thinks you should take his place when we go off. He thinks you and I should try to find the files," Finley said quickly.

Douglas blinked. "Oh. Well, what do you think?"

"I think it's a good idea," Finley said slowly. "This way both you and I will possibly have answers as to what happened that day. What's going on."

Douglas nodded his head slowly in agreement. "That's sort of what I was thinking. So … we're in agreement?"

"Yes, I think we are," Finley said with a grin.

Douglas suddenly came back to his normal size, pointy ears vanishing. He sat up quickly. "Yes!" He exclaimed, jumping up and throwing his arms into the air. "Alright, it's gone!"

Finley started laughing. "Well that's one less problem to worry about."

The two started walking towards the door. "I just don't understand how it happened," Douglas said.

"No, Finley replied. "But I think it's pretty obvious our talking fixed it."

"Yeah," Douglas said, holding the door open. "Weird, huh?"

AN: Argh, I know, really bad chapter, but this is the best my muse will allow. Hope you like! Please review, it pushes me to keep going.


	7. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Day 4

"What do you mean he was acting funny?" Kelly Trent asked over the phone.

Josie let out a soft sigh. "I don't know. I feel like he's hiding something from me. He came home last night to grab some things from his room, and then he went back to the school. I just don't get it."

"Do you want me to come down? Try to get it out of him?" Kelly asked.

"No, I don't think that's a good idea," Josie said quickly. "He'd never forgive me for something like that. I need to let him do things on his own."

"You're nervous."

"Terrified. What if he's up to something dangerous?" Josie asked.

"I'm sure it's not that serious. He always finds a way out of these situations," Kelly replied. Josie leaned against the wall, rubbing her head tiredly.

"Yes," She said slowly. "I'm just concerned about him."

"You know you can't help him with everything, Josie," Kelly replied.

Josie glanced up at the ceiling with slight annoyance. "I can't help but be worried about him. Just like you couldn't help but worry about me. It's just that I've been thinking."

"Oh?"

"Maybe it's not a good idea to allow Douglas to continue going to Blake Holsey. I'm considering sending him to Stonebridge Academy."

"I don't think that's -."

"I know, I know, but I don't want him here anymore. He could be putting himself in danger, and I don't think I could stand losing him, too."

There was a long silence on the other end. Finally Kelly sighed. "Maybe it is for the best. Have you spoken with him about it?"

"No, not yet. I think I'm going to wait till the end of the semester to transfer him. That way it will be less difficult for him."

"Well what does -?"

"I haven't mentioned it to him yet, but I'm sure he'll be thrilled," Josie interrupted.

"That's good," Kelly said. She was quiet, and Josie managed to settle back in one of the luxurious chairs of her living room, closing her eyes and trying to relax. She glanced up at the ceiling again, and then shook her head.

"You don't think it's possible that they've found a way to bring …" Josie swallowed.

"Don't do this to yourself," Kelly said softly.

Josie looked away, trying to blink back some tears. She took in a few deep breaths, wiped away an escaped tear, and quickly stood up, rubbing her arms.

"You're right," She said quickly. "I just miss him."

"I know, honey. Look, I have a break in my schedule. Maybe I could fly down and visit with you."

"No, no," Josie replied. "I'm fine, really. And I think I'll just relax on this vacation. Hopefully get some bonding time in."

"Don't push him too hard," Kelly warned.

"I won't. Thanks, Mom."

"You'll heal, shortcake." Josie laughed. She could almost feel her mother's arms trying to soothe her.

"I'll talk to you later."

"You sure you don't want me to come down?" Kelly asked uncertainly.

"I'm sure. I think I'll hit Vaughn up for another vacation during the summer. We can all go away then. This family could use one," Josie said.

"Alright. I'll talk with you later. Enjoy your time off."

"I will." The two hung up. Josie drew in a deep breath, covering her eyes almost painfully. Then she shook it off, frustrated with feeling such weakness. She stood taller and walked into the kitchen, putting the phone back.

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Douglas shuffled into the large, high-tech front office of Microne Industries. Everyone was looking around with interest, Professor Z at the front of the group trying to herd everyone into an orderly fashion. After a few seconds, Collin Bush, CEO of Microne Labs, stepped into the room.

"Welcome!" He announced with a pleasant grin. "Ah, I already see some faces I recognize. So, are you excited to be here?"

"Not really," Nathaniel murmured. Finley poked him in the ribs with annoyance. He simply shrugged.

"We'll begin our tour in a few moments, but first I'd like to ask if any of you have been here before," Collin Bush asked.

Everyone shook their head uncertainly, and Collin grinned. "Great! So let's begin, shall we? Our first stop on our tour is the large computer room. This is where we gain much of our research."

"You sure you don't steal it?" Katrina muttered under her breath. Finley couldn't help but grin. It vanished when he glanced across the room, noticing a closed door. He nudged Douglas, nodding his head in that direction. Katrina caught the gesture with a frown.

"Uh oh. What are you guys up to?" She demanded.

"Eh … tell ya later?" Finley suggested; him and Douglas quickly separating from the group as they came closer to the door.

"Anyone looking?" Douglas asked.

"No one. Perfect chance," Finley replied.

"On three?"

"One."

"Three." Finley pushed in the door, and Douglas scrambled in quickly after him. The two looking around the closet just as the door locked behind them. For a moment, no one said anything. Then Douglas turned to Finley.

"I blame you."

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Jovee leaned closer, still not bothering to blink. At least, she was trying not to blink. Her eyes were beginning to sting fiercely. After another moment, she couldn't take it any longer and blinked. Josie jumped up, throwing her arms triumphantly in the air.

"I win," She stated. The two were over at Jovee's house. At the moment the house was deserted, so it seemed alright to be there.

"Yeah, yeah," Jovee grumbled, wiping at her eyes. Once she was sure she could actually see without her eyes watering up, she glanced at her watch. "We have about two hours before the gang will be coming back from their field trip."

"Well I don't think it will be very safe to have a staring contest the whole time," Josie said thoughtfully.

"I doubt it," Jovee replied dully. She looked around. "We could watch some TV. Or play video games if you want to."

"The video game thing sounds fun," Josie said. Jovee shook her head as she stood and stretched.

"I never would have seen you as someone who liked video games. Then again, it would sure explain why you asked to borrow my Freedom IV," Jovee said with a laugh.

"That's sort of creepy," Josie said. "The way you talk about me – future me – like that."

"Yeah, well …" Jovee replied. She started to walk across the floor heading for the stairs. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, sure," Josie said with a grin, quickly following after her. The two marched up the stairs, and Jovee quickly disappeared into her room, Josie right behind her.

"Wow," Josie said softly, looking around. "Nice set up."

"Thanks. My Mom picked a lot of the stuff out, though," Jovee said. "It's great how we get along so well. I know some kids who can't."

"My Mom and I had some trouble getting along," Josie said softly.

"I know," Jovee said. For a minute she looked sympathetic, which Josie hated. She quickly marched to the machine that she assumed to be a computer.

"So what sort of games do you have?" She asked.

"That's actually the CD player," Jovee said, going quickly to the wall. She pressed a button and a large computer resembling a flat screen appeared on the wall. "And there's a bunch of games we could play. They're over there." Jovee pointed under the canopy bed. She glanced through the games, noticing several CD's as well. She quickly snapped one up and pocketed it away, turning quickly to look at Jovee.

"Why don't you choose one? I have no idea what these games are about," Josie said quickly.

Jovee looked up, eying her uncertainly, and then walked briskly to the station. "This is the one I'm working on right now," She said, handing Josie the disk.

"Mortal combat?" She asked with surprise.

"The revised version," Jovee said. "Suited for the system and all. Anyways, it's really interesting. Want to give it a try?"

"No," Josie replied, handing it back. "I've played it already. I'll just watch."

Jovee shrugged, still watching Josie with suspicion. She quickly shook it off, however, and moved towards the system. "Suit yourself. Oh, did you want a drink or something?"

"Sort of," Josie admitted.

"You want me to show you to the kitchen?" Jovee asked, turning back around.

"No, I can find my way down. Still in the same place it's always been?"

"This house doesn't change," Jovee replied.

"Right. Did you want something?"

"Snag me a power drink, okay?"

"Yeah sure. I'll be right back," Josie stepped out of the room, moving slowly around as she took in the scenery. Jovee had been wrong – the house did change. It seemed less cold, much more welcome than she remembered it being. Much more … lived in. It was nice.

She arrived in the kitchen, quickly remembering her way around from back when she and Vaughn had been friends. She snapped up the canned power drink Jovee had requested, and then quickly poured herself a drink. She was almost ready to leave when the door opened behind her.

"What are you doing in my house?"

Josie slowly turned around, looking at the boy she recognized as Vinny. He raised his eyebrow in anticipation, watching Josie for any sign – good or bad. He looked almost exactly like Vaughn had at that age, only his hair was much lighter.

"I'm here with Jovee," Josie explained. "I'm Jo- err, Jade Trent."

Vinny glanced at the ceiling as if he was certain Jovee was up there, before looking back at Josie. "Jovee's home?" He asked with disdain. Then he shook his head. "Is anyone else here?"

"No," Josie said quickly. She couldn't help but feel slightly excited. Here was Vinny. Perhaps she could try talking with him. After all, Z had said she'd gone there the first time to help with something … maybe this was it. "So … you play football?"

"What's my sister doing up there?" Vinny demanded, ignoring Josie's question.

"Playing a video game," She replied. "Do you live here too?"

"No, I stay at the school," Vinny said sort of distractedly. "Is there anyone else up there?"

"No," Josie said slowly. "It's just me and Jovee."

Finally Vinny looked Josie over, confusion sweeping his features. "Do you go to Blake Holsey?"

"Eh, no," Josie said uncertainly. "I'm visiting a cousin – Josie Trent?"

"Never heard of her. What did you say your name was again?"

"Jade Trent," Josie said.

"You hang around with those Science Club kids?" Vinny inquired.

"Yeah, sort of," Josie said, now confused with the direction the conversation was going. "How come you don't live here?"

"I told her not to hang around with those dorks," Vinny grumbled.

"Hey!" Josie exclaimed, grabbing his arm. Vinny looked at her, remotely surprised. "First of all – _I'm_ talking to you. Second of all – the Science Club kids are not dorks. They're pretty cool."

Vinny blinked in surprise. Then he shook his head. "Who'd you say you were again?"

"Hey, what's taking so long with those drinks?" Jovee called from the stairwell.

"Jovee?" Vinny called.

At first there was no response, and then suddenly Jovee practically ran into the room. She stared at her brother with surprise.

"Vinny … aren't you supposed to be at football practice?" Jovee asked uncertainly.

"Cancelled due to the rain," He said, pointing out the window. "It's really bad out there. Why aren't you out with Mom and Vina?"

"I had to …" Jovee looked around, lips pursed, her eyes finally landing on Josie. "Keep an eye on Trent. Everyone else went on that field trip to Microne Labs, leaving just me."

"I thought Chuck told you to stop hanging around with those losers in science club."

"Not you too," Jovee grumbled.

"I don't think it's a good idea. You were a lot more fun to be around before you started all that science-y junk," Vinny said, rolling his eyes.

"Dad's a scientist. I'd expect one of us to be interested in the subject."

"Please. Do you have any idea what Dad does down in that lab?" Vinny demanded, snatching up Josie's drink and swallowing it down; she too enthralled in Jovee and Vinny to become upset.

"Do you?" Jovee countered.

"Maybe I do," Vinny said, eying her darkly. "It's nothing worth getting involved in, Jovee. Will you just leave that science group?"

"They're my friends, Vinny. Why don't you get that? What's this really about? Dad?"

"Nothing," Vinny snapped grumpily, starting for the stairs.

Jovee stared at his retreating figure, steam just waiting to burst from her ears. "Why does he assume he has the right to tell me what to do? He may be older than me, but he's definitely not as -." She faltered, no good comments rising to her mind. She shook her head with frustration and then turned to Josie.

"Come on, we're going to watch a movie or something … get as far away from _the brooding teenager!_" She shouted up the stairs. "As we possibly can."

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"Got any threes?"

"Go fish," Douglas replied.

Finley shook his head, throwing all his cards into the middle. "Why did you bring playing cards with you on some stupid field trip? Couldn't you have come up with something a little bit more useful? We're supposed to be looking for Pearadyne's files – finding out what we can. Instead we're locked here in this closet!"

"You're the one who decided to sneak _into_ the closet in the first place," Douglas pointed out.

Finley stood, running his fingers through his hair uncertainly. "We won't even get out of here until someone opens the door. Who knows how long that will be."

"There's got to be another way out," Douglas replied, standing as well.

"We could try the ceiling vent again," Finley suggested.

"It didn't work the last three times," Douglas grumbled.

Finley looked around thoughtfully. "What do you think the chances are of secret passages around here?"

Douglas simply laughed, causing Finley to frown. "It's a possibility," Finley argued.

"Sure, give a try," Douglas said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

"Alright … I will."

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"Here's where our top analysts test each prescription before sending them out," Mr. Bush continued. Katrina stifled a yawn, tilting her head to the side.

"Free a tank of hammer head sharks?"

"No," Nathaniel replied, smirking.

"Go to the bathroom?"

"You said that already."

"Well why can't you just _tell_ me?"

"Because I figured it would be pretty obvious. Only you would come up with such crazy answers like freeing a tank of hammer head sharks," Nathaniel replied.

"Humor me."

"You know, don't you? This has been some sort of game, right?"

"It killed the time. So do you think they'll actually get the … you-know-what's?" Katrina asked; referring to the files Douglas and Finley had gone for about half an hour ago. She'd been – to fill time – pretending to guess what the two had gone off to do, coming up with crazy answers.

"It would be useful," Nathaniel replied, standing on his tippy-toes to see over a few heads, catching a glimpse of Z before sinking back to the floor.

Katrina pouted. "I don't see why they got to go and look around. I wanted to go."

"Finley would freak if you got in trouble because of some radical idea."

"Wasn't it _your_ radical idea?" Katrina inquired.

"Yeah, but you don't see me with them, do you?" Nathaniel asked.

Katrina tilted her head to the side, studying some of the instruments. "We could sneak off," She suggested. "Maybe meet up with them."

"You can't be serious," Nathaniel said, smile dropping.

"Well why should Finley and Douglas get to have all the fun?" Katrina countered.

"It's not about fun, it's about answers. We want answers," Nathaniel replied.

"And they're not having fun while they do it?" She looked around, watching a group of scientists walking in a group. Slowly, a grin spread across her face. "We're going. Come on."

"Bossy …" Nathaniel grumbled, following quickly behind Katrina as the two fell in step beside the scientists, neither being noticed. The group turned down a hall labeled 'restricted' just as Z turned around, confused to see Katrina and Nathaniel missing.

Once they were away from the group, they branched off, moving quickly to hide behind a set of deserted desks.

"How are we going to find Douglas and Finley?" Nathaniel asked, peering around the corner. He turned back to see Katrina flipping through the folders on the desk. "What are you doing?"

"Research," Katrina replied simply. "So far there's just a bunch of stuff on medicine that they're developing."

"Try hacking into the computer," Nathaniel suggested.

Katrina nodded, turning around to the main computer at the section. She quickly logged on, working around the difficult security until she managed to bypass all codes and log into the computer network.

"Anyone coming?" She inquired.

"No, not yet. They're all standing around in the corner, staring at something," Nathaniel replied.

"No sign of Finley or Douglas."

"Not that I can see."

Katrina frowned, her concentration being pulled entirely into the computer. She brought up a search engine and attempted to find any documents relating to Pearadyne, or wormholes. She then waited for whatever would come up to load.

Nathaniel frowned, leaning forward to try and catch a better look at whatever the scientists were studying.

"Bingo," Katrina said, a grin spreading across her face. She glanced around the station, catching a glimpse of empty CD's. She quickly snatched one away and plugged it into the system, copying the files onto a disk. "Just a few more minutes."

"We don't have a few more minutes," Nathaniel replied, turning around. "Someone's coming."

"Gargh," Katrina muttered. She quickly turned off the monitor and then grabbed Nathaniel, pulling him under to desk and praying no one would notice the computer was still downloading files. The footsteps came closer, and then stopped just in front of Katrina and Nathaniel's hiding spot.

"You find it, Casey?" Someone called.

"No, not yet," The other person replied. "You sure you didn't leave it in the other room?"

"I know it's over there. You're just as blind as a bat."

"I'm not blind," The person muttered. A second step of shoes appeared.

"There it is, right here."

"Oh yeah." There was a chuckle. The two started to walk away again. Nathaniel and Katrina quickly climbed out of their hiding spot. She glanced around, then pulled out two lab coats, tossing one to Nathaniel and wrapping the other around herself.

"Mind telling me the point of this?" Nathaniel asked.

"You're kidding … right? It's so we don't get caught," Katrina explained, crossing back to the computer to check on the download. "It's finished." She plucked the disk out and tucked it in her coat. "Now for a little fun." She fiddled around with the keyboard a few minutes, some random clicks from the mouse, and then she grinned. "Let's see them try to fix that."

"What did you do?" Nathaniel demanded.

"First I deleted the files so that _they_ can't leach off of them anymore. Then I implanted a virus into all the main computers. Fortunately it shouldn't begin to pick up until after we leave."

"… Stay away from my computer system," Nathaniel finally replied. Katrina laughed.

"What are you doing here?"

The two spun around to see a woman studying them uncertainly. Katrina swallowed nervously, and then stepped up. "Catherine Byrne from subdivision 9C. My partner William Gunner. Mr. Bush sent us up here."

"Oh. No doubt he sent you up here to see the system, huh?" She asked, a grin crossing her face.

"Exactly," Katrina said, stepping in line behind her, Nathaniel quickly following. "Mr. Bush gave us basic background information, and I was hoping to hear from someone who actually knows what they're talking about."

"That is just like Mr. Bush," The woman said with a laugh. We honestly were worried you wouldn't have the time to make it up here. You'll be pleased with what you find, though."

"I'm sure," Katrina said.

"Now, uhh, when do you expect the system to be fully operational?" Nathaniel asked.

"Three or four weeks. We'll blow Pearadyne Labs right out of existence. There's a new -."

"Is this system a potential hazard to other people?" Nathaniel interrupted. Katrina elbowed him, but the boy ignored it.

"Some," The woman admitted reluctantly. "We're almost finished with our testing, though. Here it is. This computer is the basis for all operations."

They stopped where other scientists were gathered. "Now this system operates on the …?"

"Energy taken from the wormhole. Yes. We've managed to break through the barrier – I'm sure Mr. Bush explained to you the barrier Pearadyne upheld around the wormhole, right?"

"Yes, he did," Katrina said quickly.

"Well after breaking that barrier we managed to pinpoint exactly where the greatest energy pull was. Now we've managed to control the operations of the wormhole – though we don't necessarily need it. We've wired our computers to each specific energy pull, and are monitoring them before we begin the final project."

"How … interesting."

"It's fascinating. This will be the beginning of a new era. Soon Microne will be put on the maps."

"What exactly is it that -."

Nathaniel nudged her. "The tour will be over soon," He hissed in her ear.

"Oh," She said, frowning.

"Is something wrong?" The woman asked.

"Sort of," Katrina said apologetically. She glanced at the clock. "Our rounds will be finished soon, and we need to monitor the transaction. We'll send someone else up, though, to finish with you." Nathaniel had to marvel at how professional she sounded.

"Of course," The woman said with a nod.

"We'll send someone back," She promised. Then the two quickly exited the room.

"How are we going to get back to the main lobby before the tour gets there?" Nathaniel demanded.

Katrina frowned, studying the map before her. "If we cut down these two tunnels, we should get there," She replied.

"How did you know to pose as lab assistants?"

"There was a calendar on the wall, today's date telling there needed to be a maintenance over-look by subdivision 9C. Then I let her fill in the rest," Katrina explained.

Nathaniel nodded. "Alright … let's go."

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Katrina and Nathaniel practically screamed when they turned the corner and ran into someone. Well, two someone's, actually.

Finley blinked. "Katrina? Nathaniel?"

Douglas rubbed his head. "Aren't you supposed to be on the tour?"

"No time," Katrina panted, quickly pulling off the lab coat and discarding it the closet, Nathaniel doing the same. She pulled out the disk and tossed it to Finley. "Come on."

"What's going on?" Finley asked as the four darted down the hallways.

"We decided to go off on our own," Katrina said.

"She decided."

"We came across a computer, hacked on, and then burned a disk of all the information related to Pearadyne and Wormholes."

"She did."

"Then we implanted a virus into their system."

"All her doing. I was just the lookout."

"The side-kick," Douglas said, shaking his head.

"Is that it?" Finley asked.

"No, there's more. We were caught, but posed as lab assistants."

"They actually bought it?" Douglas exclaimed.

"I guess so. Anyways, they explained to us the importance of this new system, but we didn't get to find out what everything's made to do because Nathaniel realized we needed to head off with the group before we missed it."

"The tour is supposed to be over _now_?" Finley demanded.

"Shortly. We're going to merge in with the group. What about you, find out anything interesting?" Nathaniel asked.

"We were locked in a closet for some time," Finley began.

"But then Finley came up with this outrageous idea that maybe there was a secret passage around -."

"Which there was."

"It lead to an underground compartment where we hid in some over ducts and spied on whoever was down there."

"It seems the big project is being performed down there. We'll explain more when we get back to school," Douglas said.

"If we manage to get back," Nathaniel said as the group ran.

"Way to be optimistic," Douglas breathed.

They turned down another corner, but all quickly jerked back behind the wall when they caught sight of the large room of technicians.

"Wrong turn?" Katrina asked.

"This shouldn't be too hard," Finley gasped, peering around the corner.

"The tour's supposed to end in three minutes," Nathaniel chimed.

"Shush!" The others exclaimed.

"Just thought you should know," Nathaniel replied with a shrug.

"We need a distraction," Finley said thoughtfully.

"We _could_ just tell them we got separated from our group," Douglas suggested.

"No, it wouldn't work," Katrina whispered. "They'd never buy it."

"Look," Nathaniel insisted, pointing to the clock. Everyone looked with annoyance, but were shocked when the wall burst into flames.

"There's your distraction," Douglas said slowly.

"How did that happen?" Katrina asked.

"Questions later, run away now," Nathaniel replied, ushering the group across the panicked room and towards the door that led to the final corridor. Not too long after, they appeared in the main hall just as the tour did. It wasn't too hard to slip in unnoticed.


	8. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Day 4 Pt. 2

"Do you know how risky it was for the four of you to sneak off like that?" Professor Z demanded, the heads of the accused hanging low. "Douglas and Finley was enough, but Katrina and Nathaniel?"

"She made me do it!" Nathaniel exclaimed, his head shooting up as he pointed to Katrina, who punched him in the arm.

"We got information, though," Katrina countered, looking to Z.

"And you were caught. Anyone can connect you to the downfall of their computers," Z said. "That is something, by the way, that I definitely do not approve of."

"They were stealing from Pearadyne. We stole back, and burned then while we were at it," Katrina countered.

"Why do you always tell it as 'we'?" Nathaniel inquired.

"They were bound to have cameras around," Z continued, ignoring the outbursts.

"Yea, but the cameras would also be affected by the virus I planted," Katrina countered.

"You said they were pulling from certain energy points in the wormhole. What if your virus affects the times where the wormhole connected? History could be changed," Z countered.

"We missed something, didn't we?" Jovee asked uncertainly as she and Josie stepped into the classroom.

"Obviously. What's going on, guys?" Josie asked.

"Douglas and Finley were asked to try and learn as much from Microne as they could while we were there. Katrina and Nathaniel took it into their hands to go off on their own, steal files from Microne, set a virus on the system, and pretend to be lab assistants. Not to mention they started a fire in one of the rooms," Z explained.

"Wait a minute," Jovee said. "You didn't set up the whole field trip just so you could spy on Microne, did you?"

"Well …" Z said, some anger dissipating from his face while Katrina just gave her a 'duh' look.

"I cannot _believe _you!" Jovee exclaimed.

"Whoa, back up," Josie said. "Fire? What fire?"

At this point Nathaniel bent lower, hiding his head.

"Right when we needed a distraction to get back to the tour group a whole wall burst into flames," Katrina said.

"You started a fire!" Jovee gasped.

"Of course not," Douglas snapped, rolling his eyes. "It was a pure coincidence."

"Yeah, weird coincidence," Finley said, looking at Nathaniel. "Funny how the wall burst in flames when Nathaniel decided to point at it."

Katrina spun back to look at Nathaniel, and soon all eyes were on him. "Nathaniel?" Z began. "Is there something you want to share with the rest of us?"

"Pure coincidence," Nathaniel nervously chuckled. "Just like Douglas said."

"Wait a minute," Finley said, turning back to look at Douglas. "Doesn't this seem a little familiar?"

"Coincidence?" Jovee asked with confusion. "Or the breaking into Microne Labs?"

"Neither," Douglas said. "He's talking about the time Nathaniel became pyrokinetic."

"Where was I when this happened?" Jovee asked.

"Yeah, me too," Said Katrina. The girls exchanged a confused look.

"When Katrina's Mom took you two away for a weekend at her house," Z explained.

"And you never told us?" Jovee demanded.

"Why I ought to -."

"Now Katrina, let's not let our temper's flare," Finley said, swallowing hard. "I think there are more trying issues at hand here."

"Yeah, like how I can fit all of you onto a skewer," Jovee said.

"Violent," Nathaniel murmured.

"Let's try and stay on track here," Josie interrupted. "We'll deal with Nathaniel's problem in a minute. I want to here more about this trip to Microne. Who _is_ Microne, anyways?"

"We sort of didn't want to mention it to you, Josie," Katrina said, looking at her. "But Microne Industries is a company that has been stealing stuff from Pearadyne for over a year. They sort of have control over the wormhole."

"What?" Josie demanded.

"They were probably doing tests with this new project they're working on," Katrina rushed on. "No doubt they opened the wormhole that brought you here."

"Well the wormhole will still open on its own, right?" Josie demanded.

"Oops," Katrina said suddenly, covering her hand over her mouth.

"Oops?" Finley repeated with confusion.

"The virus," Nathaniel said. Everyone looked at him with confusion. He quickly moved to the front of the room. "Katrina planted a virus in the computers at Microne Industries. From what we gathered Microne bases all its work with the wormhole from computers. If they're not functioning properly how will the wormhole be opened to send Josie back to her time period?"

"Nathaniel," Douglas said slowly, looking the boy in the eye. "_Please_ tell me that you aren't serious."

"Sorry, Douglas," Nathaniel replied.

Katrina licked her lips. "I'm sure I could find a way to reverse the damage."

"It would be too difficult to sneak back into Microne and reverse it," Z replied. "It was dangerous enough suggesting it the first time." He shook his head.

"Well I'll just have to find another way home," Josie said. "We still have an estimate of … three days left. Right now I want to hear what they found out."

"Finally, someone who's not upset," Katrina said. She pulled the disk off of Z's desk and loading it in the computer. "I didn't look through all of it, but I took every file concerned with Pearadyne and the wormhole."

"That's not all," Douglas interrupted. "Microne's up to something dangerous."

"The woman we were talking to mentioned people _could_ get hurt," Nathaniel noted.

"I'm beginning to wish I went on this field trip," Jovee mumbled, only Josie hearing her. She simply grinned.

"More dangerous than that," Finley said. "The lower-level crews are the ones focused on the main part of the project. The above levels – where you were – just receive bits to work with."

"Meaning what?" Jovee asked, taking a seat with everyone else. Z sighed, but allowed the group to continue. He never was good at discipline.

"Got it," Katrina said. She quickly pulled up several of the files, looking through them. "So far it's just a bunch of science mumbo-jumbo."

"Just listen for a minute," Finley said sharply. "This is serious. Collin Bush is planning an expedition to the past. He's copied the space machine that has been dormant in Pearadyne for almost twenty-three years."

"The one with the wormhole connected to it?" Josie asked with confusion.

Douglas nodded his head. "Mr. Pearson, err, Victor, shut it down back then. We're not exactly sure why, though," He explained.

"I'm sure Z knows, right?" Josie asked, looking back at him. The older man shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. His reasoning would only be known to Vaughn and the others involved in the project," Z replied. "By then it wasn't any of my business."

Josie shook her head. "I can't believe all this! Pearadyne really is, or, was, working for a good cause? And now there is some other company bent on using Victor Pearson's machine to do damage." She looked increasingly interested.

Douglas sighed. "If Collin Bush succeeds in his expedition, people are going to get hurt. He'll be messing with the space time continuum."

"We'll also found out that Collin has a contact in the past," Finley said. "They didn't say who, but whoever it is, it's someone who was somehow involved in Pearadyne."

"That could be anyone," Jovee said, looking nervous.

"I know," Finley said, glancing at Douglas. "The good news is that with Katrina's virus they won't be able to go ahead with their plans. This will give us more time to gather the rest of the facts … hopefully help in shutting them down for good. The only problem is Josie being stuck in the past."

"Microne has also been conducting experiments on humans using the energy from the wormhole," Katrina said softly.

"What?" Everyone demanded.

"Yep. Here are some of the results. They want to see if they can make humans with the ability to travel through time. The conductors are wired through the computers to push the energy through. Often times the people come out brain damaged. Apparently they've begun to have success, so they're considering taking people in. That's not all. They've had three that have actually succeeded."

"The janitor?" Josie said, looking uncertain.

"It doesn't say who," Katrina said with a frown. "This is way bigger than us, guys. It's not a game." She turned to look at everyone else, biting her lip.

"Maybe we should contact Corrine or Marshall. Even Vaughn," Josie suggested.

"Mom and Dad are on vacation," Finley said. "I'm not even supposed to call them until tomorrow. Have to check in on them. They need the break … I couldn't stress them with this."

"And Dad's just worried about stopping Microne from stealing files from Pearadyne. Besides, what could he do? We'd only get chastised for playing just as bad as they are," Jovee finished.

"Meaning we're stuck," Josie finished. She looked uncertain, and then went ahead anyways. "We could tell my older self. I'm sure she'd be willing to help. Besides, Katrina said she was still around," Josie said.

"Did she now?" Douglas asked; pursing his lips and looking back at Katrina, who simply stuck her tongue out at him.

"Even so, you can have no contact with your counterpart. It could carry unforeseen side effects, understood?"

"Why can't _you_ contact me?" Josie asked.

"She, err, you, has enough stress right now. Besides, it might be best for her not to get involved. She participated years ago."

"But in theory she already lived this, so she would know the outcome," Josie countered.

"And in _theory_, fingerprints were individual to each person. Martina Savens proved that wrong eleven years ago," Finley said.

"In theory the universe revolved around earth," Said Douglas.

"In theory, Michael Jackson had forty nose jobs," Nathaniel added.

Katrina frowned. "Who's he?"

"Never mind old music stars," Z said, looking pointedly at Nathaniel. "The fact of the matter is that Josie can't get involved."

"Then I _am_ stuck," Josie said.

"We'll find some way to sort all this out," Z said, rubbing his jaw. "We just need time to think it over. I suppose you should go on with the rest of your days, then. And try not to be troubled by this."

"Z?" Nathaniel asked. "What about this Pyrokinesis thing?"

"Eh, right. Try … soaking your hands in ice."

Jovee, Josie, and Katrina all stared at him dubiously. Z frowned. "It worked last time," He pointed out.

"This school is so weird," Josie said before the group turned to leave.

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"I can't believe soaking your hands in ice water actually stopped you from starting fires," Josie said to Nathaniel, shaking her head.

He simply grinned. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Shockingly enough," Jovee said, shaking her head.

"Where are Finley and Douglas?" Katrina asked, stepping into the room.

"Over at Douglas'," Nathaniel filled in. Then he glanced at his watch. "I should probably be heading over there."

"What are you three up to?" Katrina asked.

"Guy stuff," Nathaniel said with a shrug as he stood. "We'll be back before lights out."

"Can I come?" Josie asked. "I wouldn't mind seeing Douglas' house."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Nathaniel said.

"Why not?" Josie asked, crossing her arms over her chest and raising her eyebrows.

"Because I don't think it's a good idea," Nathaniel replied. He pulled on his jacket and quickly left the room.

"I don't see why I can't go," Josie said. Jovee and Katrina exchanged a quick glance, and then Katrina shrugged.

"Douglas' mom's weird. She's not too fond of strange girls coming to the house. Don't think anything of it, though. Come on, let's play cards," She said.

Josie glanced back at the door. "Yeah, in a minute. I have to go to the bathroom, first." She got up and quickly left the room.

Jovee looked at Katrina, who was busy shuffling cards. "You don't think …?" She started. Katrina looked up and met her eye.

"Nah."

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It only took two knocks for Douglas to come to the door, opening it wider for Nathaniel to enter. "Hey, he greeted," The two giving a secret handshake. "Finley's upstairs. Grab some chips are something and be sure to keep it quiet, okay? Mom's taking a nap in the living room, and she'll be PO'd if she finds out anyone's over after nine."

"…Still hasn't gone back?"

"Nope." The two started to walk up the stairs. As soon as they disappeared, Josie opened the door and snuck in, shaking her head at how Douglas didn't bother to lock the door. Then she started looking around, stopping when she came to the living room. The form of a sleeping body lying on the couch and covered in blankets stopped her from going in. What Katrina had told her about Douglas' mom rang in her head, so she turned and instead marched up the stairs where the boys had gone.

"I'm serious, man, your Mom is -."

"Will you cut it," Josie heard Douglas snap from behind a door.

"Yea, Nathaniel. No one wants to hear about how you have a crush on anyone older than you. It's just … wrong."

"Could you imagine our wedding?" Nathaniel asked.

"Finley, please tie his mouth shut or something," Douglas grumbled.

"Give me some candy and I'll be quiet," Nathaniel said.

"Give him some candy, Finn," Douglas said.

"So this is what boys do when they're alone," Josie said, pushing open the door. All three who were spread out along the room with video game controllers in their hands jumped up and started screaming. After a few seconds Douglas stopped, and hit Finley and Nathaniel to stop too.

"Wha – wha – what are you doing here, Josie?" Douglas stammered.

"I followed Nathaniel. I just wanted to see what your house looked like," Josie explained.

"She followed him," Douglas said, looking to Finley, who looked to Nathaniel.

"I thought Saturday's was 'no-girls' night," He said with a frown.

"I didn't bring her here!" Nathaniel protested.

"It doesn't matter at the moment, Douglas said quickly, ushering Josie into the hall. Finley and Nathaniel followed behind him. "You've seen the house, now you should head back to the school."

"What are you guys doing in there, anyways?" Josie asked. "A 'no-girls' night? Doesn't that sound a little kiddish?"

"Ha!" Nathaniel exclaimed. "Douglas, that's exactly what -."

"Shut up, Nathaniel," Douglas grumbled. "You need to go back, Josie. I'm not even supposed to have anyone over."

"Douglas!" A voice called from down the stairs. It was then that he could actually hear the approaching footsteps.

"That's your mom!" Nathaniel exclaimed in a worried voice.

"Really?" Josie asked, starting towards the stairs.

"No, no!" Douglas stated, grabbing Josie's hand and pulling her over to the closet in the hall. "You've gotta hide! My Mom can't see you. You can't see my Mom! This is so messed up. Everybody in!"

Nathaniel and Finley had no trouble clambering into the stuffy closet, but Josie hung out, her arms over her chest. "Why do we have to hide?" She asked.

"I'm not supposed to have anyone in the house, Josie. If my Mom knows you're here she's going to freak. Get … in!" Douglas hissed through clenched teeth.

"Alright, alright," Josie murmured, quickly going into the closet. Douglas slammed the door shut just as his Mom reached the stairwell. She stopped for a minute, taking in the suspicious scene before her. Douglas was leaning against the door as if forcing it stay shut, panting nervously. She continued up, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I thought I heard voices," She said.

"Just role playing," Douglas said quickly.

"Uh huh," Adult Josie, or Mrs. Randall, crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow. "Tell me another one. Didn't I tell you no visitors after nine? You have to start caring about your school work."

"I don't have any visitors, Mom," Douglas said quickly, sporting a grin. "I was just role playing. For drama. Watch." He cleared his throat nervously. "Oh Clarette, you're hair suns like a thousand -, oh dang, that's not it."

Josie snorted, glancing at Finley out of the corner of her eye. "What's he trying to do?"

"Romeo and Juliet," Nathaniel murmured. "Shh."

Mrs. Randall narrowed her eyes at her son. "Now why would my son who has no talent at drama at all bother to stand out in the hallway, at night, reciting lines that aren't even correct?"

"The bedroom stinks," Douglas said quickly.

"So does your lying," Mrs. Randall retorted. She glanced at the closet door again. "Hello Finley, Nathaniel."

Douglas held his breath at the long pause, before, "Hey Mrs. Randall," Came murmured in double voices from the closet. Douglas rolled his eyes. Those two …

His mother looked back it him. _Again with the evil eye_, Douglas thought nervously. She just grinned. "Who else is in there?"

"There's no one else," Douglas said quickly.

"No one, huh? Well I'm sure it's not Jovee. Katrina? No, it's not Katrina." Mrs. Randall rubbed her chin thoughtfully. She seemed thoughtful, a memory pulling at the back of her mind. Then she simply shrugged. "Either way, you know you're not supposed to have people over. Next time make sure they head home _before_ nine. Got that guys?"

"Yes Mrs. Randall," Finley and Nathaniel said gloomily.

"I'm going to head off to bed. The boys should head back to school."

"Mom, its _Saturday_. Can't we just hang out?" Douglas whined.

Mrs. Randall smirked at Douglas without a reply before moving down the hall, stopping in front of the door. She seemed thoughtful for a long moment, and then simply said, "See you around, Josie." As she moved quickly down the hall, Douglas called after her, "You could be seriously messing with the space-time continuum!"

Mrs. Randall made a 'Pfft' noise before turning the corner. Meanwhile Josie had resorted to throwing herself at the door.

"She knows who I am?" She asked, trying to at least jiggle the handle a bit.

"Apparently," Finley said nervously. Douglas pulled the door open, causing the other three to fall out on top of him.

"Oof," Nathaniel grumbled.

Josie jumped up and looked Douglas square in the eye. "How does your Mom know I was in there, and why did Finley and Nathaniel call her Mrs. Randall?"

"Because I'm actually Douglas Randall, not Douglas Ripley. It's just that … my last name was so much like … Lucas', that I didn't want anyone to think we were related. As for my Mom … she's sort of weird like that."

"Are you related to Lucas?" Josie asked.

"Eh … no. Well, sort of," Douglas added quickly after Finley and Nathaniel's look. "My Dad and his Dad are cousins," Douglas lied.

"Oh," Josie said, frowning. "I suppose I should head back to the school, then."

"Yeah, we'll come with you. Don't want Mrs. Randall flipping out too much," Nathaniel said.

"Why did you lie to her?" Finley whispered to Douglas as Nathaniel and Josie moved quickly up ahead.

"She already knows my Dad left us. I just don't think it's a good idea for her to know Lucas' fate," Douglas said.

"You could have saved him, though," Finley said. "Back in the past, I mean. Why didn't you?"

Douglas shrugged. "The consequences, I guess. Plus I don't think he needed to worry about something. I wanted Mom and Dad to be happy while they were young, before Dad went through the wormhole, and before Microne. I didn't want to take that away from them. This is just the way life is, and I'm going to have to learn to live with it," He said softly.

There was a silence between the two friends before Finley patted Douglas on the back. "Maybe you're growing up, Douglas. It takes a lot of responsibility to do what you did."

"Yeah," Douglas said, looking back up the stairs. "But people are still getting hurt by it."


	9. Chapter 8

AN: Thanks to Hottitom, my lone reviewer, lol. Thanks for the support. Only ... three more chaps to go i suspect, so just hang in with me!

CHAPTER EIGHT

Day 5

Katrina stretched with a yawn before looking over at Josie who was rummaging through her book collection. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for … something," Josie grunted. She straightened up. "You wouldn't happen to have 'Jane Eyre', would, you?"

"Eh … no, why?"

"I just woke up with this urge to read it," Josie said, shaking her head.

Katrina took her clock in her hand and looked at it. "Six 'o' clock?" She exclaimed. "It's the weekend!"

"I know," Josie said, shaking her head. "I just couldn't sleep."

"But it's _six_ in the _morning_. On the _weekend_!" Katrina exclaimed, staring at Josie with horror. She straightened up, certainty on her face. "Get back in that bed … and close your eyes, okay?"

"But -."

"Bed!" Katrina exclaimed. Josie rolled her eyes and then climbed over to the bed. The two settled in, and for a few moments there was silence. Then Katrina started rolling about in the bed.

"What are you doing?" Josie asked, opening an eye and peering at Katrina.

"I don't feel too well," She said, sounding a little surprised. "I felt just fine a few minutes ago, but now … ouch!"

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure," Katrina said; her voice full of pain and frustration. Suddenly purple electricity shot around her, unnoticed by either she or Josie. A few moments later a black kitten sat on the bed in the place of the raven-haired girl. Josie jumped up, eyes wide in shock.

"Oh no." The kitten just gave a little 'mew' in return.

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"Douglas? Finley? Open those doors!" Josie pounded on one door, and then went across the hall to pound on the other, Katrina in her arm. After a moment the door where Finley was staying was thrown open. A boy with bright green hair appeared, frowning.

"Look, it's early in the morning. What do you want?" He demanded; arms over his chest, irritation in his eyes. "And what's with the cat?"

"Is Finley in there? Wait … who are you?"

"Phil – Finley's room mate. And he's sleeping … like I should be. And you." He frowned.

"Well could you wake him up? This is kind of important."

"You've got to be kidd -."

"Jos – err, Jade?" A voice called from across the hall. Josie spun around to see Douglas standing there, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "What's going on?"

"We have a bit of a problem," Josie said, stuffing Katrina into Douglas' hands. He looked down at the cat with slight disgust, and then back at Josie.

"I hate cats," He stated.

"So do I. Which is why you can hold onto her instead of me," Josie replied.

"Why's everyone in the hall?" Finley asked, looking around.

"Red here was looking for you," Phil said, gesturing to Josie. He turned around and yawned. "Later dude."

"Okay, what's with the early morning wake-up call?" Finley asked.

"Cat," Douglas said with a shrug, handing it over. Katrina, who had been fussy in Douglas' arms settled happily into Finley's.

"I'm confused," Finley said, looking up at Josie and Douglas as his hands ran softly through the cat's fur.

"One word: Katrina," Josie said.

"What about her," Douglas asked from behind her.

Josie simply gestured to the cat, waiting for the information to register. When it did, both boys looked horrified, Finley quickly dropping the cat, which caused her to hiss and claw at him in return.

"Are you trying to say the," Finley lowered his voice, "_Cat_ is Katrina?"

"Yeah," Josie said as if it were obvious.

"Well we need to fix this," Finley said, picking Katrina up again and stroking her apologetically.

"Wait a minute," Douglas whispered. "This seems way too familiar. Anyone else notice a pattern here?"

"No," Josie said.

"Yes!" Finley exclaimed. "It's so early in the morning … I'd almost forgotten."

"I'm lost."

"Katrina was turned into a cat once before," Douglas replied.

"Which implies that something _really_ weird is going on. First you turn into an elf -." Douglas gave a slightly annoyed growl. "Then Nathaniel was pyrokinetic again, and now this. Something's up."

"Whatever it is, we need to fix it soon," Josie said pointedly. "I hate cats. No offense, Katrina." The cat let out a low growl and then buried her face in Finley's arms.

"Z's office?" Douglas suggested.

"Got a better idea?"

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Jovee rested her head on the desk, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, Nathaniel was staring at her. She swatted him away and then turned around, looking at the trio. "Don't mean to be a pest, but while this weirdo right here is an insomniac -," She gestured to Nathaniel. "I like to sleep in. So could you please explain to me why we're all here?"

Without saying anything, Finley took Katrina from the little bed he'd set up for her in one of Z's drawers, and placed her on the table in front of Jovee. The girl blinked once, twice, and then looked at Finley.

"Katrina's a cat again, isn't she?" She asked.

"Yes she is," Finley replied, taking the cat back and scratching behind her ears.

"_Great_," Jovee said, dragging the word out. "And I don't suppose this could have waited until … oh, I don't know … later?"

"She's your best friend!" Josie exclaimed.

"I'm not saying she's not, but it's not like anything bad will happen to her. Besides … she likes being a cat," Jovee said.

"She told you this?" Nathaniel asked.

"Yeah. Well, no," Jovee said. "I read about it in her diary."

To this Katrina hissed and went to scratch Jovee. The girl jumped back. "I said I was sorry _last_ time."

"I don't see how they could be friends," Josie said, shaking her head.

"It's an opposite's kind of thing," Douglas replied.

"What?" Jovee asked. "It's not as if I never caught you reading my diary." Katrina settled down quickly.

"Enough nonsense," Finley said. "We need to fix this."

"Any suggestions?" Nathaniel asked.

"Eh … no, that's the best I've got, really."

Nathaniel shook his head. "Maybe there's a reason she's that size," He said.

Josie looked at him with surprise. "What did you say?"

"Well last time Katrina was turned into a cat it was for a reason. She ended up listening in on a conversation between Eiley and Collin Bush," Nathaniel pointed out.

"That's exactly what the janitor told me when I shrunk to five inches," Josie exclaimed.

"Janitor?" Nathaniel repeated. "Scary tall guy, funky glasses, spiky hair … all knowing?"

"Wait … he's still here?" Josie asked. "I knew he could travel through time, but this is just weird."

"He stays in the basement. Usually doesn't come out unless there's something Eiley wants him to do. He came here just after Eiley became principal, actually," Nathaniel said, looking thoughtful.

"That's the janitor," Josie said with a nod. "I say we try and see what he knows about all this."

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"This is why I never want to ask the janitor a question," Finley grumbled, wrinkling his nose at the repulsive smell of the basement. Josie rolled her eyes, following quickly behind Jovee.

"You know, usually the janitor just sort of … appears, when we need his help," Josie said.

Jovee shook her head. "He must have gotten lazy or something in this time period. We always have to try and find him."

"That's probably because he knows that you know that he's useful," Finley pointed out. "I mean, your Dad told you everything after the wormhole opened up again. It's only logical that he – time traveler and all – would know that."

"I don't know," Douglas said slowly. "I just think he's lazy."

"I'm with you on that," Nathaniel chuckled.

Jovee rolled her eyes and stopped outside the janitor's bedroom. She quickly rapped on the door, Katrina weaving in and out of her legs. There was some shuffling around behind the door as the others caught on with them.

"What?" The janitor asked, poking his head through the door. He glanced around, eyes falling on Josie, and then moving over to Katrina.

"Yes, we're in a debate," Nathaniel said, pushing Jovee out of the way. "We can't figure out if you don't come to us with answers because you already know that we know you have them, or because you're just lazy."

The janitor blinked before Jovee shoved Nathaniel out of the way. "Ignore him … he tends to be an idiot."

"It's early," The janitor said.

"Well I know it's early," Jovee snapped. "But we've got a situation and you've got the answers."

"No I don't," The janitor replied.

"Yes you do," Josie said, stepping to the front.

The janitor ignored her, and looked back at the cat. "Pet's aren't allowed in the school."

"No, but students are, and she's a student," Jovee told her.

"You need to figure everything out yourself. Keep going, though. You're on the right track," He said, before quickly closing the door behind him. Jovee blinked.

"I changed my mind … he's completely useless," She said.

"Definitely slacking," Douglas agreed. "And he wants a better future … ha! Not gonna happen if we have to do everything ourselves."

Finley picked up Katrina and started down the hall. "I'm going to attempt to find some way to change her back," He called over his shoulder. "The rest of you should just go back to bed before Eiley finds out."

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By afternoon Katrina was still a cat, and Finley, despite his best efforts, was beginning to give up. The group had met up on and off to check in on the situation, only to be disappointed with the outcome. There was no Z to go to today, seeing as he was visiting with his wife's parents. Now it was just the group without anyone to help them solve the situation.

Finley rested his tired head on his pillow, watching Katrina bat a bouncy ball back and forth. He sighed, turning over on his back to stare at the ceiling. It only took him a few minutes, and then he was asleep. For a while there were only his soft snores and Katrina's playing that filled the room. Then the door was pushed quietly open, and Josie entered. She glanced around the room, and then bent down petting the cat.

A little wary of her, Katrina cautiously leaned into the petting, becoming comfortable. Josie picked her up and quickly slid out of the room. She moved quickly down the hall, and then disappeared into a different hall. She moved quickly around, ignored by any bystanders. She opened a door and moved into it, placing Katrina on an empty desk. The she sat down across from her, meeting the cat's suspicious eyes.

"You're right," Josie finally said, Katrina moving a little bit away. "I'm not Josie. At least … not the Josie you know. But you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not yet, at least. It's just a little complicated. You can call me Josie 2, if you want. That's what everyone else called me."

Katrina swished her tail, settling down as if ready to hear the whole story. Josie 2 just laughed.

"I can't tell you. I will soon, but right now let's worry about getting you back to your old self. Does that sound okay?"

Katrina simply tilted her black head to the side patiently.

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"I'm going to have a major panic attack if we don't find some way to get everything fixed," Douglas said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Jovee just grinned from the bed.

"I'm sure you have an answer to everything in that crazy mind of yours," She said.

"Ha ha," Douglas said, rolling his eyes. "I'm half tempted to ask my Mom. She knows Josie's here, so maybe she can tell me what happened."

"Back up … she knows Josie's here?" Jovee asked. "Since when?"

"Since last night, at least. Josie, Nathaniel and Finley were hiding in the closet, and as my Mom walked by she acknowledged Josie," Douglas said.

"But don't you think if she knew what happens she would have told you?" Jovee countered.

"Maybe she's thinking like the janitor – 'don't say a word', 'let them figure it out themselves'."

Jovee laughed. "What's with adults now days, anyways? They expect us to know everything."

"Maybe it's their revenge for them not knowing everything that was going on when they were younger," Douglas suggested.

"This stinks," Jovee said.

"It's a complete disaster," Douglas replied. The two shared a laugh.

"Alright, so what do we know?" Jovee asked.

"Katrina shut down Microne, but in doing so she shut down all connections to the wormhole, implying that Josie will be stuck here. We know that things that have happened to each of us before is happening again. Sometimes using the same situation works to get out, other times there's a completely different reason," Douglas filled in.

"So anything can happen." Jovee shuddered. "One can only imagine."

"I wonder if all this is somehow connected to Josie," Douglas said slowly.

"I don't think so," Jovee said with a wave of her arm. Then she frowned. "Still, maybe we should ask Professor Z?"

"Maybe," Douglas said. "Speaking of Josie, where is she?"

"I think she said something about having something to do," Jovee said.

"That could mean a number of things!" Douglas exclaimed, jumping up.

"Chillax, hyper boy. She promised she wouldn't try to find out any future information," Jovee said.

Douglas scoffed. "And you believed her?" He asked.

"Douglas, sit down," Jovee said, taking his hand and pulling him onto the bed. "Josie's not going to get into any sort of trouble. Just take some nice deep breaths, okay?"

"You sure?" Douglas asked.

Jovee snorted. "I'm positive," She said.

"Okay," Douglas said, taking in a slightly less panicked breath. Then he looked down, realizing he was still holding Jovee's hand. She noticed the same, and the two quickly let go. For a moment there was an awkward silence.

Then Jovee found her voice. "Douglas, I think -."

Douglas quickly pushed her out of the way as a bit of plaster came smashing from the ceiling and onto the bed where Jovee had been sitting moments before. The two stared at the bit with horror.

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She was surprised Jovee had let her off so easily, but Josie had a feeling she wanted to talk to Douglas, so she hadn't exactly been listening to what Josie had said when she'd wandered off. Now she found herself slightly lost.

She'd never expected to run into Vaughn's wife again, but there she was, walking down the halls with a few cheerleaders behind her. She stopped when she saw Josie.

"Jade," She said with a slight smile. She gestured to the group of girls to wait for her. "Vinny mentioned you were at the house yesterday."

"Yeah, just visiting with Jovee," Josie said quickly. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where Vinny is, would you? I had to ask him a question – for Jovee."

"He's probably practicing on the football field. Where is Jovee, anyways? She's supposed to be coming to practice," Dee said with a frown. "She's missed so many practices lately …"

"She was in Katrina Groh's room earlier, but I don't think she's still there," Josie said apologetically. She started walking outside with Dee and the cheerleaders.

"It's a shame you're only visiting," Dee continued. "You'd like Blake Holsey so much. And you look like you could be a great cheerleader."

"Me? I don't think so," Josie said with a nervous laugh. "Cheerleading's not exactly my thing."

"It's a shame, it's so much fun," Dee said.

"All you do is stand around waving your pom poms around," Josie scoffed.

Dee simply frowned. "You know, you sound so much like Josie."

"Who?" Josie asked, looking up with surprise.

"Just an old friend of my husband's," Dee said with dismissal. "You know, I think her maiden name was Trent."

"Maiden name?" Josie asked with surprise.

"Mm hmm. You wouldn't happen to be related to her, would you?" Dee inquired.

"We're, eh, cousins," Josie said.

"That's a shame … you're such a nice girl. Oh, there's Vinny. Well I'll see you later, have to start practice. Could you tell Jovee to come home at seven instead of nine? Her father's having some business people over for dinner tonight."

Josie was half tempted to ask more, but decided it'd be better to simply talk to Vinny. "Sure," She said. After Dee had moved away, she frowned. Maybe her future self wasn't too wrong in thinking this Dee was a twit. Nice, but still a little too obsessed with cheerleading for Josie's taste. She turned and walked over to the bleachers to watch the Football players practice. It wouldn't be long before she actually got to talk with Vinny.

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Jovee pushed open the door to Finley's room quickly followed by Douglas. "We've got a problem," She said.

"On top a bundle of other problems," Finley replied, not bothering to stop tossing things all over the room.

"What's wrong?" Jovee asked.

"Katrina's missing," Finley replied.

"What?" Douglas demanded.

"If Eiley sees her, she's gone!" Jovee exclaimed.

"I know!" Finley snapped. "I fell asleep while Katrina was playing, and I woke up five minutes ago to an empty room."

"You don't think Phil came in and took her, do you?" Douglas asked.

"Nah, he's out shopping today," Finley replied.

"Hey guys."

Everyone spun around to see a human Katrina step through the door.

"You're not a cat," Finley said.

"Yeah," Katrina said with a grin.

"… How?" Jovee asked.

"Let's just say a friend helped me realize that I was blaming myself for everything that happened yesterday," Katrina replied.

"A friend?" Jovee repeated, looking slightly hurt. "Who?"

"No one," Katrina replied with a shrug. "What's going on?"

"We've got a new problem on our hands," Douglas said.

"Huh?" Katrina asked.

"The school's falling apart," Jovee said.

"Okay, I know the place is pretty crummy and everything -."

"No," Jovee interrupted. Katrina blinked, looking at her best friend. "You remember when I was really stressed about exams and what my Dad would think if I ended up failing?"

"Who could forget," Katrina said. "You had us up till three in the morning studying. You hardly got a wink of sleep that whole week."

"Well do you remember what happened before the exams?" Jovee inquired.

"The school started falling apart," Finley said. "Gargh, on top of _everything_ else!"

"I have a theory," Jovee said quickly. "I think that with everything that's been going on – with all the stress each of us is going through, it's no wonder the school's falling apart. So let's try and get everything out in the open."

Before anyone could say anything, though, the floor gave a hard jerk, and then the walls began to rumble.

"I'm stressed about being stuck in a room that's falling apart right now!" Katrina snapped, holding tight to the wall. After a few more seconds the floor stopped shifting.

"Okay, let's move fast," Jovee said. "There's already a bit of plaster missing out of your ceiling, Katrina."

"Great, now I'm stressed about my ceiling," Katrina said.

"Be serious," Douglas said.

"Alright, alright," Katrina said. "I'm really not stressed about anything."

"Finley?"

"Aside from 'are my parents alright on their trip'? I'm concerned about how all this is going to end."

"Me too," Jovee said. "I'm afraid nothing's ever going to be the same after this week."

"I'm worried about my Dad," Douglas said softly. "And my Mom."

"I'm worried about my friends and the school," Said Finely.

"I think my family's falling apart," Jovee said.

"I'm afraid Josie will find everything out," Douglas mumbled.

They fell silent. The door opened and Nathaniel walked in. He frowned. "Did I miss something?"

"Is the school still falling apart?" Jovee asked.

"The school was falling apart? Huh, I just thought it was some random earthquake thing. If it makes you feel better, I didn't notice anything after that last tremble."

"Let's just hope it's stopped," Douglas said. The others nodded in agreement.

"Oh hey, thought you guys would like to know that Josie and Vinny got in a fight about five minutes ago. Eiley had to split them up, and then dragged them both to his office."

"What?" Jovee demanded.

"Yeah. You should have seen them – I think Vinny's nose started bleeding, but he hardly got anything on Josie," Nathaniel said. "It was awesome."

"Oh no," Jovee said, quickly darting out of the room. Douglas shot Nathaniel a dirty look, and then followed Jovee. Finley was quickly behind Douglas, and finally Katrina. She looked Nathaniel over.

"You didn't even bother to try and stop it?" She asked.

"If you'd been there, you wouldn't have wanted to stop it either," Nathaniel replied.

Katrina grinned. "Wish I could have seen it." The two quickly left the room.

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"It was just a little fight," Josie replied.

"Yeah, aside from the severely bloody nose that Vinny got," Katrina said. "Good punch."

"I still don't understand why you got in a fight with my brother," Jovee said.

"I was just trying to help," Josie replied.

"Help with what?"

"I thought I'd try and get Vinny to get along with Vaughn," Josie admitted. "I was just trying to help."

"How'd the fight start?" Jovee asked.

"We started talking about his home life, he got annoyed, and I defended myself," Josie replied.

"Well don't do it again," Jovee said. "Everything with Vinny and Dad will work itself out in time. It's just a stage."

"Still," Josie said, meeting Jovee's eye. "It was worth a try."


	10. Chapter 9

AN: Yeah … this was one hard chap to write, so I apologize for the wait. Here's the new chap!

CHAPTER NINE

Day 6

There was one day left before the deadline for the wormhole to open, and despite their best efforts, no one had been able to come up with a way to get the wormhole to work. It was a Monday morning, and everyone aside from Josie was in class. The red headed girl was asked to stay in Katrina's room until they came for her. However, Josie was getting rather impatient, and an idea was brewing in the back of her mind.

She let her nature pull her out of the dorm room and head down the stairs. Because class was in session the halls were empty. Still, Josie knew enough to be cautious of running into Principal Eiley – he hadn't been too happy when he saw the visitor yesterday. Fortunately Eiley didn't seem as concerned about it as the group had expected. Still, he was suspicious, and Josie didn't want to take that chance.

She felt lucky that Z's classroom hadn't been moved since her time period. She knew that Katrina had advised against it, but at the moment, it seemed like a good idea to Josie. She stopped outside the science room and took in a deep breath before knocking.

She poked her head in, and looked around. "Professor Zachary?" She asked.

At the voice many bored students looked up. Then whispers began as she walked across the room to Z's desk where he was attempting to unlock a stubborn drawer.

"That's the girl who beat-up Vinny Pearson!"

"I heard it was about his sister, Jovee."

"No, no, I heard …"

"Professor Z?" Josie asked.

"You know you're not supposed to be in here, Josie," He said distractedly.

"I know, but I was just wondering if I could borrow your cell phone. Finley mentioned you had one. It will only take a moment, I promise," Josie replied.

Z finally looked up. "What do you need a phone for?" He asked.

"Don't worry, Z. It's all been approved by the others. It will only take a moment, and I'll give it back to you when I'm done," She said almost innocently.

Z narrowed his eyes, and then slowly pulled the phone out of his pocket and handed it to Josie. "Return it at the end of class, okay?"

"Sure, no prob," Josie said, taking the phone and pocketing it. "Thanks." She quickly backed out of the room with a grin. Once she'd found an empty girl's room, she pulled a strip of paper out of her pocket. She swallowed, quickly peeked around and then turned on the phone.

"Only one person can help me," She said stubbornly. She dialed in the number and let the phone ring, impatiently tapping her foot against the floor. After a few moments, the answering machine picked up.

"Hello, you've reached Corrine -."

"-And Marshall!"

There was a slight chuckle. "Wheeler. We can't come to the phone right now, because we're enjoying our anniversary on the beaches of Florida. However, if you leave a message we'll get back to you as soon as we can."

Josie raised her eyebrows, and then waited for the beep that usually followed the recorded message. When it did come, she took in a deep breath. "Perfect time to go on vacation, guys! Look, I really could use your help. It's me, Josie, but not exactly the Josie you remember. I came through the ever-so-friendly wormhole, and now I'm stuck! I need that 172 IQ of yours, Corrine, to figure out some way to get back. You can get in touch with me through Z. Hurry! Oh, and … _you're married_?"

Josie quickly flipped the phone closed, and looked around. Then she put the phone away and slipped back upstairs.

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Principal Francis Eiley squinted at the scribbled number on the sheet of paper. When Josie and Vinny had been brought in yesterday, he had taken down the number of 'Jade's' parents. He'd called the number, which in all actuality was just Katrina's cell phone number. He'd called then and there, but when no one answered, they allowed him to believe no one had been home. Now that he finally had the chance he decided to try calling again.

He called in the numbers, and waited for someone to pick up. Finally Katrina, who was in a study hall, took the call, ducking down low so that no one would notice.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Mrs. Trent?" Eiley asked on the other line, tapping his pencil against the table top. Katrina straightened up, and waited a moment to get her bearings.

"Ah, yes, who is this?" She asked, attempting to sound more professional.

"Principal Eiley from Blake Holsey Preparatory Academy. It is my understanding that your daughter, Jade, was staying here for a short visit."

"Yes, that's true. Oh dear, she hasn't gotten herself into trouble, has she?" Katrina asked, unable to keep a grin from her face with how believably worried she sounded.

"Yes. I regret to inform you that your daughter has gotten herself in a fight with one of our prominent children," Eiley replied.

"I was afraid this would happen," Katrina said. She picked up her pencil and began to try and solve her math homework. "Is everyone alright?"

"Nothing too serious," Eiley reluctantly admitted. "A bloody nose."

"Oh no! Not my Jade, I hope," Katrina said.

"No, no, it was the other child," Eiley replied quickly. Katrina let out a relieved sigh. "Uhh, Mrs. Trent, I was wondering if perhaps it would be possible for you to retrieve your daughter. In all honesty, I was not aware of this visit at all."

"Oh no?" Katrina asked, feigning confusion. "I sent a letter to you three weeks prior. Did you not receive it?"

"No," Eiley replied, sounding baffled. "I was not aware of your daughter's arrival. Is - is it possible this letter may have gotten lost on the mail?"

Katrina almost started cracking up laughing with how gullible the old principal was. "Yes, I suppose so," She said in reply, barely containing her amusement. "Well next time I should better call, hmm? The post office can be so unreliable now a day."

"Yes," Eiley agreed. "As I was saying, though, would it be possible for you to come and pick your daughter up?"

"Oh, I don't know," Katrina replied. "I mean, Jade was _so_ looking forward to this visit. We were thinking of transferring her there. I just don't know. Not to mention I'm so busy at work and all. Perhaps I could come for her tomorrow? It would give her time to ready herself, and I just so happen to have the day off. A week earlier than planned, perhaps, but convenient to you. Does that sound alright?"

"Yes," Eiley said with a laugh. "That sounds just fine."

"Good. Then I shall call her and inform her of this arrangement. Thank you for notifying me of this little incident. It's very clear you are an attentive man of your job."

The little man couldn't help but be flattered. "Why thank you, ma'am."

"Bye." Katrina clicked off the phone and slipped it away, before finishing her math homework, feeling great about pulling one over the all-knowing principal.

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Josie moved quickly around the school. The bell would ring soon, and while she didn't want to get caught by one of the Science Club members, she did have a purpose. She stopped to peek into another room. Seeing her target, she grinned and leaned back against the wall, waiting.

After a few moments the bell went off and the door opened, students spilling out. A few kids glanced her way, but she paid no mind. She waited until she caught a glimpse of platinum blond hair before moving out. She followed in quickly behind him, grabbing his arm and pushing him against the wall.

"Hey!" He exclaimed. His eyes narrowed when he looked at Josie. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk," Josie replied. Vinny rolled his eyes, pushing past her and walking away. "Don't walk away from me!"

"Didn't we do enough talking yesterday? Or did you just not get the point?" Vinny asked, glancing back.

"So I'm stubborn. And I'm looking out for a friend," Josie replied.

"I doubt Jovee's at all concerned about this," Vinny snapped.

"Well you'd be wrong," Josie said. "Look … could you slow down?"

Vinny slowed to a stop and turned, waiting for her to continue. "I have to be to class in three minutes."

"Then I'll make this brief. I can understand the need to distance yourself from a parent. But don't you think you're being a little extreme? You're shutting out your whole family. Don't you care at all about Jovee?" Josie asked.

"Of course I do," Vinny snapped. "She's my sister."

"What about your other sister, and your Mom?"

"Yeah, sure," Vinny said with annoyance.

"So what do you have against your Father?" Josie inquired.

"None of this is your business," Vinny replied.

"Like I said – I'm helping a friend," Josie repeated.

"Even if Jovee was worried about this, she wouldn't send some girl she just met to try and talk to me about it. And she would do it herself," Vinny pointed out.

"I never said I was helping out Jovee," Josie said. Then she sighed. "It's complicated. Could you at least pretend you're listening? I can't relax if I don't try to do something."

"Fine, but make it quick."

"Vaughn – err, your Dad, always had trouble getting along with his Father because Victor Pearson was distant after his wife passed on."

"What do you know about that?" Vinny demanded.

"It doesn't matter," Josie said quickly. "The point is that Vaughn would do anything to get his Father's praise. He tried to be the best at everything – wrestling, science – anything that his Father could not insult him for. I – err, my cousin – could see the pain he was going through. Now you're putting him through that again."

"You don't know anything about my Father," Vinny replied.

"I know a lot more about him than you do," Josie said. "But that is completely beside the point."

"I have to go," Vinny said, moving away.

"Will you consider it?" Josie asked.

"Will you leave me alone if I say yes?" Vinny countered. Josie nodded. "Then I'll consider it. Now stop stalking me."

He moved quickly away, leaving Josie to relax a bit. Now she just needed to let things work themselves out. Nathaniel appeared beside her.

"Where did you come from?" Josie asked.

Nathaniel took in a few sharp breaths. "You need to come quick."

"What's wrong?" Josie asked.

"It's Z," Nathaniel panted.

"Is he in trouble?" Josie demanded.

"… Sort of," Nathaniel said. He grabbed her hand and started pulling her along. "You really need to take a look at this."

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"Alright, someone tell me again what exactly happened," Josie said slowly.

"The bell rang, we got up to leave, Z asked us to stay behind because he wanted to talk to us, and then he just … changed," Douglas replied.

"I didn't change," The six year old insisted, crossing his arms over his chest.

Josie couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. "This is _definitely_ Blake Holsey weird," She said.

"Have any suggestions?" Finley asked; turning to look at her while the little boy started climbing onto the desks.

"Well first you have to do something about his classes," Josie said.

"Maybe we could say they had to be canceled?" Nathaniel suggested.

"Better yet," Finley said. "We can send them to the lunch room for a study hall. Explain to the lunch ladies that Professor Zachary had some last minute business to take care of at home, and had to leave them in charge of his students."

"Oh sure, Eiley would _never_ notice the difference," Douglas said sarcastically.

"It worked last time," Finley countered.

"Hold up, this has happened before?" Josie inquired.

"Sort of -."

"Stop that!" Nathaniel exclaimed, darting towards the back of the room. The others turned around to see Noel Zachary standing on top of the desks with a container of some sorts.

"Noel, give me the flask," Douglas said, reaching out. The boy jumped back with a laugh. "You can't catch me!"

"I feel so sorry for his mother," Nathaniel said.

"Could you take this seriously?" Finley demanded. "Go tell the lunch ladies the new plan, okay?"

"Yeah, and while you're at it get on the loudspeakers and announce to the whole world the secrets of Blake Holsey High," Douglas said.

"Noel, could I please see that?" Josie asked, trying to snatch away the article from the child's hands. He bounced back while shaking his head. "You give me that or I'll pummel you to the -."

"Talking to a child, Josie," Nathaniel reminded her.

"You can't hurt me," Noel taunted, leaping across to the other desk top. At that moment Katrina chose to walk into the room. She stopped dead at the door, took in the scene, and then walked out of the room, shaking her head.

"Get over here you little twerp!" Josie exclaimed, reaching for the child's shirt.

"Can a student even beat up their teacher? Isn't that like, child abuse or something?" Nathaniel asked.

"Lunch room, Nathan," Finley snapped.

"Fine, fine. But surely you _must_ see the humor in this whole situation," Nathaniel said.

"Go!" Josie, Douglas, and Finley chorused.

"I'm goin', I'm goin'," Nathaniel murmured, darting quickly out of the door.

A crash behind them had the three heads swiveling to where they'd left Noel. In front of the table was a broken beaker.

"Oh man," Josie said; face scrunched up in a pout. The boy giggled menacingly before sneering.

"That's just one," Noel said, holding up another beaker, the container he'd had before miraculously gone.

"I'm never having children," Josie vowed, causing Douglas and Finley to exchange a humored look.

"Professor Zacha -?" The girl stopped mid-sentence, stepping into the room. "What's going on in here? Where's Professor Zachary? And who's that kid."

"Mildred Denley," Douglas grumbled.

"This is Professor Zachary's son, Aiden. Professor Zachary had to go home – family emergency. Instead your class will be having a study hall in the cafeteria," Finley said quickly. The girl tilted her head to the side.

"If Professor Zachary had to go home, why did he leave his son here?" Mildred inquired.

"You know what, I'm not really sure," Finley said. "He just asked us to look after him while he stepped out."

"Is he supposed to be hanging upside down from the table?" Mildred asked. Then she finally noticed Josie who was jumping around the room trying to catch the elusive Noel Zachary. "Aren't you the girl that got in a fight with Vinny Pearson?"

"Mill Dill, don't you think you could get a move on, now?" Finley inquired.

"Doesn't seem like you have things under control," Mildred countered, crossing her arms over her chest and ignoring the comment from Finley.

"Nope, not in control. No control here!" Noel piped up, before throwing up all over the floor. He groaned, and sat up on the table. "I don't feel so good."

"Well that's what you get for jumping all over the place. Now sit still for a minute while we try and find some way to clean this mess up," Josie said. The boy nodded obediently, looking almost green.

"I'll get the nurse," Mildred said.

"Don't bother. We already sent Katrina down there."

"But he _just_ got sick," Mildred replied.

"Yeah, but he was acting funny before," Douglas replied.

"You're going to be late for your study hall," Finley announced.

"What's with the dork-fest?" Chuck Burger demanded, the rest of the class beginning to collect behind him.

Finley cleared his throat, moving quickly to stand in front of the vomit before anyone could notice. "Professor Zachary had to run home. He says class will have a study hall in the lunch room."

"Alright!" Chuck exclaimed, quickly heading away with the rest of the kids. Mildred stayed behind, narrowing her eyes.

"You guys are up to something," She said.

"Don't want to ruin your perfect attendance record, do you, Mill Dill?"

"Quite it," Mildred snapped. She looked at the clock, however, and saw she had less than a minute to get to class. Glancing back at the others she quickly darted out of the room.

"Suck up," Douglas murmured.

"We're here," Katrina called, walking into the room followed by Jovee.

"Who did what?" Jovee inquired.

Josie gestured to Noel, and then the mess along the floor of beaker and barf.

"Nice," Katrina acknowledged just as the bell rang. She grinned. "Thanks Z, now I have an excuse to get out of Math."

"I feel sick," Noel replied.

"Oh, don't worry, honey," Jovee said, maneuvering her way to his side. "We'll get this all cleaned up in a minute, okay?"

"They're mean," Noel said, gesturing to Josie, Finley and Douglas.

"Well that's because they're boys and a bully. They don't know how to take care of kids," Katrina said.

"Hey!" Douglas and Josie exclaimed. Finley simply shrugged.

Nathaniel darted into the room. "All taken care of," He said.

"Now what?" Josie asked.

"We wait?" Douglas suggested.

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Corrine stretched out on the blanket, before settling back down and allowing the warmth of the sun to cover her. Beside her, Marshall was wrapped up in a new book on quantum mechanics. The couple had greatly been enjoying their holiday from work.

Marshall put down the book and turned to his wife. "Three more days left. You ready to give all this up and go back to work?" He asked her.

"Not really," She said, turning on her side to look at him. "You didn't forget Grant's going to be stopping up tomorrow with Tamara and the kids, did you?"

"Yea, I did," Marshall said with a groan. "I don't see why he feels he has to ruin our anniversary."

"I thought you two worked everything out last time," Corrine said.

"Everything _was_ worked out. But it's our anniversary – our getaway from everyone and everything."

"Sure, that's why we get at least three kids coming up and asking for your autograph everyday," Corrine joked.

Marshall smirked, taking Corrine's hand into his. "Besides all that, I just want to relax."

"And we've relaxed for two weeks. Aren't you excited about meeting with your brother again? I know I can't wait to talk to Tamara," Corrine said.

"Yeah, I have a few things Grant and I could discuss. It's just all going to be over too soon," Marshall replied.

"Well we'll just have to enjoy the last of it while we can."

"Have you checked the phone messages yet? Finley mentioned something about calling today."

"No, not yet. I'm sure he's still in school."

"We should probably check. You know how he'll get if we don't check in," Marshall said. Corrine laughed.

"He worries too much. Just give me a minute, I have the phone here somewhere," She said, turning on her side to search through her beach bag. She pulled out her flip phone and began to check through missed calls. She frowned when she noticed there was a message from Professor Z.

"Looks like Z called," She said, her eyebrows lowered in confusion. Marshall leaned over her shoulder.

"What's he calling about?" He asked.

"I'm not sure, there isn't a subject. Let me check." Corrine put the phone to her ear, replaying the message from Josie. Slowly her frown deepened. "It's from Josie."

"Josie? Is something wrong at Pearadyne?" Marshall asked.

"Not that Josie, Marshall," Corrine said quickly, shoving the phone at him. "Listen." She replayed the message for her husband, his face suddenly darkening with each word.

"Oh no," He said finally, handing the phone back to Corrine.

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The group was sitting around, trying to keep Noel from becoming hyper again while the phone began to ring. Noel, the first to jump up, snagged it off of his desk and turned it on.

"Professor Zachary?" The voice on the other end asked, sounding a little confused.

"Hello," Noel replied, looking back at the group.

"Z, what's going on? We got a message from Josie saying she came through the wormhole. What's she talking -?"

"Is that my parents?" Finley demanded, quickly stepping over to Z's side. "Give me the phone."

"No!" Noel snapped, tugging the phone back.

"Give me the phone," Finley repeated, becoming quickly involved in a game of tug-of-war with the six year old.

"Finley?" Came the confused voice over the phone.

"Noel, give him the phone," Katrina cooed, stepping closer to the little boy.

"No! I talk on da phone."

Give … me … that … phone!" Finley snapped, jerking the phone out of the kid's hand, causing himself to fall back into the bookcase while Noel fell down on the floor, his eyes quickly watering up.

"Now look what you did!" Jovee exclaimed; she and Katrina falling beside the small child, shooting dark glares at Finley. He rolled his eyes, trying not to feel bad, and put the phone to his ears, turning away.

"Mom?"

"What's going on? You better tell me the truth, Finley Mathew Wheeler," Corrine said in a sharp voice.

"Well, it's sort of a long story, Mom," Finley said, glancing back at the group.

"Josie's not _really_ there, is she?" Marshall asked.

"What?"

"We got a phone call from Josie saying she came through the wormhole, and was stuck here without a chance to get back," Corrine said, sounding worried.

"Did you?" He asked, turning a look to Josie, sitting in the corner with her head in her hands.

"Is she there?" Marshall pushed.

"Yeah, she is. She's sort of resting right now, though."

"_What_ is going _on_?" Corrine demanded.

"Okay, okay, short version? Josie from 2004 came through the wormhole. We weren't too worried because Professor Z said that Josie told him back in 2004 that when she went to the future she was there for a week before the wormhole opened up. But then things started … reversing themselves. Douglas was an elf, Nathaniel became a pyrokinetic, Katrina became a cat, Jovee had to release pent up stress. Nothing's happened to me yet, but Z's been turned into a six year old."

"… Oh boy," Corrine said.

"What'd he say?" Marshall asked.

"Josie's there and now everything's been put into reverse," Corrine said quickly.

"I knew we shouldn't have sent you to Blake Holsey," Marshall said into the phone.

"Yeah, that's great. Anyways, Before Z made his …" Finley glanced at the kid who was now happily sucking on a lollypop. "… transformation, he had this theory that Josie being here and learning so much about the future is somehow altering the way thing have gone in the past year. To add on top of everything it turns out the wormhole won't be opening up, and that _we_ have to be the ones to find a way to open it – without letting Josie and Vaughn find out."

"Why can't you ask Josie? Wouldn't she know the answer?" Corrine asked.

"Douglas is _really_ against that. In all honesty, _you_ weren't even supposed to know about this."

"Put Josie on the phone," Marshall commanded.

"Big Josie, or -."

"The other one," Marshall said.

"Josie, my parents want to talk to you," Finley called.

Josie looked up, seemingly confused, and then slowly walked over and took the phone in her hands. "Hello?"

"Refresh my memory, Josie. How did you get through the wormhole?" Marshall asked.

"Marshall?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Is Corrine there?"

"She's right next to me. Could you answer the question?" In a way Josie wasn't liking the way Marshall spoke to her like she was a child. All things considering, though...

"Lucas and I were working on a project in Z's office and the wormhole opened up, pulling me through," Josie explained.

"Hold on a minute," Marshall said. The line fell silent, and Josie had a suspicion they were discussing the situation together. After a moment Corrine came back on the phone.

"Marshall and I are going to try and catch a plane into town tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure we'll be able to get in before classes end. Until then we'll try to come up with a way to help you, alright?"

"What'd they say?" Finley asked.

"You're parents are coming into town tomorrow to try and help," Josie replied.

Finley frowned. "But they still have three days of vacation," He said with a frown.

"That's fine," Josie said. "I can't wait to see you, Corrine … we _really_ need to talk."

"So I'm guessing," Corrine replied with a laugh. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright," Josie said.

"Will you put Finley on for a bit?" Marshall asked. Josie quickly agreed and then handed the phone over. Then she moved back to check on Noel. The little boy was now playing with some puzzle on the solar system that Katrina had pulled out for him. She took a seat back at a desk, and glanced at the clock to check the time. Unfortunately, the clock seemed to be stuck at six. She frowned, before turning back to Katrina.

"What time is it?" She asked.

Katrina glanced at her cell phone. "Uhh … twelve eleven. Why?" She looked up and met Josie's eyes. The other girl looked back at the clock, then Noel, and then the clock again. Nathaniel noticed the confusing look, and glanced at Katrina, who also seemed unsure. Josie climbed up on a counter and pulled the clock down. She turned it over just as Finley hung up.

"What's she doing?" He inquired.

The others shrugged. Josie fiddled with the clock for a minute, and then hung it back up, muttering, "I hope this works," As she did so. As soon as the clock hit the wall, Professor Z sprouted back into his normal self. He looked around; eyebrows narrowed, and then pulled the sucker out of his mouth.

"What, eh, just happened?" He asked.

"You were six again," Nathaniel said plain and simple.

"Right," Z said, climbing down from the desk. "Let's … never speak of this again, okay?"

The kids started laughing.

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Mrs. Randall tapped her fingers against the table, glancing across from her. "So Corrine said she would call when they get in," She finally said.

Vaughn nodded. "That's good. I'm just still confused about why they're cutting their vacation short."

Josie shrugged. "I'm sure it has something to do with whatever the kids are up to."

"So it's not just Jovee, then," Vaughn said.

"It's all of them. The weirdest thing is that I feel like all of this has happened before," Josie said.

"You think this was when you'd … gone to the future?" Vaughn asked, seeming doubtful.

"Maybe," Josie said with a nod. "I just wish I could remember what it was I had to do. Then I could help – if that is what's really going on."

Vaughn nodded and the two fell silent. Finally Josie met Vaughn's eyes. "I'm sorry about flipping out on you – at the labs. I was just stressed."

"I know what you mean," Vaughn agreed. "And you've been working so hard lately. At least we don't have to worry about Microne anymore."

Josie nodded. "I can't believe all their stuff got wiped out," She said, shaking her head. "Still, it's good for everyone, right?"

Vaughn smirked. "Yes, but don't you find it odd that everything happened the day the students went on a field trip to the labs?" He inquired.

Josie looked at him, a small smile gracing her lips, the look on her face showing she knew he what he was getting at, but she was also interested in what really happened.

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A drop of water fell from the ceiling. After a moment, the janitor looked up, meeting Josie 2's eyes. "Checkmate," He said.

Josie 2 just grinned. "Play again?" She suggested, moving the pieces from the chess board and re-setting them with her child-like smile. The janitor nodded, and the two started over again.

While Mrs. Randall and Vaughn discussed what had been going on with their children, and the janitor and Josie 2 played chess, Josie peered out the window, her mind reflecting on the whole time she'd been there. Despite the fact that everything had been fun, she just wanted to go home, and she couldn't resist the desire to return home to her friends.

Katrina sat up in bed, watching Josie. "Nervous?" She asked.

Josie nodded, looking back. "What if the wormhole doesn't open tomorrow?" She asked.

"You can be my new roommate," Katrina suggested jokingly.

Josie smiled a sad smile. "That would be great," She said before looking back out the window. "But I can't stay here forever."

"We'll figure it all out," Katrina vowed, quickly turning off the light.

"Yeah," Josie agreed, climbing away into her bed. Still, the doubt was there.


	11. Chapter 10

AN: Thanks to Hottietom, thesolitary-dragon, and xSarah

Hottietom: Eh, more and more confusing? Gee, I hope that's not a bad thing. Glad you liked the Z thing; it was thrown in there for the fun, lol. Thanks for the constant reviews!

Thesolitary-dragon: Jaw drops I honestly don't think I've ever gotten nor given a review that long before, so let me start by saying I'm honored, lol. You are def. right – Lucas is ADORABLE! Uhh, sorry I don't have any more stories up here, but I do actually have more, their just under a different name. This is my 'Strange Days' name, lol. Nah, you don't have to review every chapter, lol. It would be cool, but isn't necessary. I'm glad you like the story so much, so I hope you like the ending when I get to it. Thanks for the ubber long review!

xSarah: Aww, that's okay if you haven't been reviewing for a while. I was a bit stressing when I wrote that people haven't reviewed in a while. Thanks for the compliment, and thanks for the review!

CHAPTER ELEVEN

DAY 7

The final day had dawned, and everyone seemed unsure of what would happen. Was it possible for the wormhole to open up on its own? To take Josie back? It had been more than a decade since the wormhole had done that on its own accord … unless one wished to count the incident with Lucas, but no one was really sure of what had happened that day, so it is safe to stick to the fact that they were most likely doomed.

Douglas hurried down the hall, backpack in hand. He knew that there had to be some way to send Josie back … all he needed to do was look through all his Mother's books on quantum physics and time travel. Maybe, just maybe, he could find the answers. So he chose to skip his classes for the betterment of everyone. At the moment, everyone who was up was in the cafeteria eating breakfast. He pushed open the door, heaving a big sigh of relief at escaping without Eiley's scrutinizing eye. He strutted across the grounds, knowing very well he didn't exactly have much time, but enjoying the feeling of going against the rules. He was more like his Father when it came to rules.

"Douglas!" He froze. _Maybe I should never have tried pulling 'a Mom'_, Douglas thought. He slowly turned around, only to see Jovee coming towards him. He let out a quick sigh of relief as she caught up.

"Hey, where you heading?" She asked, falling in step beside him.

"My house," Douglas said. "I woke up this morning and remembered all those books and articles Mom has on time travel."

"Oh yeah," Jovee said. "How could we have forgotten about that?"

"I don't know if it will help any, since there aren't any 'how-to guides on mysterious Wormholes at Blake Holsey High'," Douglas said, causing Jovee to let out a laugh, before quickly cupping her hands. "It's freezing out here," She said.

Douglas glanced at her. "We could … hold hands. To keep warm," He said quickly.

"Eh, yeah, sure. To keep warm," Jovee said quickly, taking his hand. The two started moving quickly across the field silently.

"Everything has happened so fast," Jovee finally said. "It's hard to think that just a week ago Josie came here. Look at all the stuff that has happened – the progress, as little as it's been."

"We've helped our parents in a big way," Douglas agreed. "If Josie had never come, it's unlikely that whole trip would have happened."

"Not to mention all the other stuff that's happened. You think we were right? That all that was because of Josie's arrival in this time period?" Jovee asked.

"I don't think we'll ever know exactly why it all happened, but I'm sure it's the only logical explanation," Douglas replied.

Jovee nodded her head. "Yeah, that makes sense. Douglas, what if your -."

"Chillax," Douglas assured her. "Neither of them will be a problem. Besides, my Mom's supposed to be out for the rest of the day."

"That's one less thing to worry about," Jovee said. "What do you think will happen when the others realize we've skipped classes?"

"I'm sure they'll figure it out quickly," Douglas assured her. "I left a note with Finley."

"I can imagine how that would go. 'Dear Finley, went to research time-travel at my house, don't expect me to be in classes. Oh, by the way, could you try to notify me when you have any news on the wormhole? Thanks, Douglas'. Yeah, I'd bet Phil would find that really interesting," Jovee joked.

"Very funny. I just told him I wouldn't be in classes today because I had some good research for our project to get done," Douglas replied.

Jovee shrugged. "That works too," She said.

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The science room was deserted at the moment, which was fine for the red-headed girl who had snuck inside. Josie stared at the door, closing it silently behind her, almost enjoying the rush of adrenaline that she once had when she'd started at this school. She rested her head against the door, and then turned quickly around, stepping into the center of the room where the notorious wormhole had dumped her a week ago.

"Look," She said, feeling stupid for talking to nothing, but going ahead anyways. "I don't know exactly what it is that you expect me to do. I talked to Vinny; I tried my best to help out with every weird situation. Microne is shut down. Can't you just send me back?"

She waited a moment, but when nothing happened she frowned. "You can't keep me here forever! I need to go home eventually, and you know it, so why can't you just open up and let me through?"

And yet whoever seemed to control the wormhole seemed not to hear her. She grimaced, crossing her arms over her chest feeling slightly ridiculous. "I didn't choose to come here," She said softly. "Whatever it is I was supposed to do I've already done it. Just let me go home!"

There wasn't a point in waiting any longer, and Josie knew it. If the wormhole was going to send her back at that moment it would have already done so. Resolved she turned away. Pleading with the wormhole hadn't worked, but she still had until the end of the night to go back. She held onto that hope.

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Douglas looked up with surprise as the back door opened to the house, and his Mother stepped in. She froze, seeing Douglas and Jovee sitting there pouring over her old books. The two exchanged a nervous glance at Mrs. Randall's face became filled with frustration.

"Mom," Douglas said, beginning to explain but losing his words after a moment.

"Why aren't you in school?" Josie demanded.

"We're doing research?" Douglas said. Jovee swallowed hard, her mind rewinding back to the last time she'd seen Mrs. Randall this angry … the day that Lucas disappeared.

"In the kitchen?" Josie inquired, her face turning a dark red with anger. "How dare you skip school? Do you know how hard I work to send you to that school in the first place? And Jovee, when your Father finds out about this … I can_not_ _believe you two_!"

"Mom, it's not like you never -."

"Don't you get started on me, young man. I want you to head back to that school and tell Principal Eiley that you were skipping class. And I expect you to promise me you will never, _never_ do that again, do you understand?" Josie demanded.

Douglas was having major difficulty seeing the woman before him as his Mom. He'd never seen her this mad or frustrated except for last your. At least then there was a reason for her anger. Now? He could stop his eyes from practically bulging out of his head. Unable to reply, he just nodded his head, his face practically white.

Josie glanced at the two, looking as if she were about to apologize for flipping out on the children, but then seemingly thought better of it and tore up the stairs to her room. Most likely to fume in peace and keep herself from taking her frustration out on her son and his friend.

Jovee took in a slow breath, looking at Douglas. "I can't believe how upset your Mom was," She whispered softly.

Douglas shook his head. "I'm not going back to school," He said defiantly.

"Douglas?" Jovee asked with surprise.

"I don't know what's gotten into her, but I know it has nothing to do with us skipping class. I know her better than that." He glanced upstairs with a frown. "I just hope she didn't wake Preston."

Jovee nodded her head in agreement, still unable to rid herself of the slight fear she'd felt at Mrs. Randall. "What do you think put her in that mood?" She asked.

"I don't know," Douglas admitted. "I'm really worried about her, though. First there's everything with your Dad, and then trying to spend more time with us. I want to help and everything, but I can't do that if I don't know what's wrong."

Jovee frowned. "What?" Douglas asked.

"Well maybe she's just been thinking about your Dad lately," She said slowly. "I mean, being home as much as she's been, it's bound to get to her."

"I hate coming home," Douglas admitted. "For just that reason. You're probably right; I just don't know how I can help."

"You can try and be there for her," Jovee suggested. "You guys have to be there for each other," She said.

"Maybe," Douglas said, shaking his head. "Mom's gonna be up there for a while, so we'd better get back to work."

Jovee sighed, standing up. "I'm going to go home, check the family library. No doubt Dad will have a lot of stuff on wormholes. Call me if you find anything?"

"Alright," Douglas said.

"I'll try talking to my Dad about it," Jovee said quietly. "He might know some ways to open up the wormhole now that it's no longer under Microne's control. Maybe you should try talking to your Mom."

Douglas frowned as he heard a door upstairs close quietly, and then another. He shook his head. "No, I think everything's under control in that department," He said quietly.

"She needs both of you," Jovee said.

"I can be there for her once we get this solved. One problem at a time, Jove," Douglas answered.

"Okay," Jovee said reluctantly, pulling her stuff up. "I'll call you if I get anything." Douglas nodded an agreement and watched as Jovee walked out the door. He felt so lost at what to do. Should he go and talk to his mother?

"No," He murmured to himself. He had to solve this problem first.

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A few hours later Josie walked down the stairs and into the deserted kitchen, knowing very well that Douglas had gone into his room to try and give her space. She was grateful to this, not wanting to start an argument. She quickly slipped on her shoes and coat, darting out the door to the black car waiting for her. She slipped in, rubbing her hands quickly before looking at Vaughn.

"You ready?" She asked. He nodded; then gestured to the drive to take them. The car started up and Josie tried to relax.

"What's wrong?" Vaughn asked.

Josie shook her head. "It's nothing," She replied.

"That's not what Corrine will say when she sees you," Vaughn pointed out. "Want to get it out now?"

"It's just an off day." She rubbed the back of her neck, trying to clear her thoughts. She frowned. "I yelled at Douglas for skipping classes earlier," She said. "_Me_, the all time skipping-class champ of Blake Holsey."

Vaughn nodded reluctantly. "I figured as much when Jovee came home," He said. He frowned. "Josie, I think there's something I should tell you about."

Josie looked at him, confused. "What?" She inquired.

"You're here," He said. She blinked, waiting for him to elaborate. "I mean your younger self you … from 2004."

Josie's eyes lightened up. "How do you know? Did Jovee tell you?"

"No," Vaughn admitted. "At least, not exactly. I saw her, err, you, at the Football Game the same day you decided to take your vacation."

"Why didn't you tell me last night?" Josie demanded.

"It didn't exactly seem like a good idea," Vaughn snapped back. Then he sighed. "I was almost hoping I'd imagined the whole thing. In fact, I'd even convinced myself I'd been dreaming, but then Jovee came home asking a ton of questions about the wormhole. I guess Katrina planted the virus at Microne, but now they can't figure out how to get the wormhole to work again, meaning you can't go home."

Josie frowned, resting her head against the window. "Don't you remember … anything?"

"Vaguely," Josie admitted. "On Saturday Finley and Nathaniel were hiding in the closet, and I just knew I was in there too. I called a greeting to her and walked away, eventually telling myself how ridiculous I must have sounded after that." She laughed half-heartedly. "Now that you mention getting stuck … it seems familiar. There's this thing nagging in the back of my mind … something about trying to talk the wormhole into letting me go home. I should have figured as much."

"I thought you were lying when you said you couldn't remember anything," Vaughn admitted. "When you came back from the future, that is. The whole time I thought you'd made it up, but now that I'm here … I guess I'm just a little confused. Why can't you remember what happened?"

"A side effect of traveling through the wormhole?" Josie suggested. "There have been some strange effects recorded in our studies. Maybe this is just one of them."

"It would make sense," Vaughn replied, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "But if you remember the wormhole not working properly, then there's a chance that it will all be solved … everything could work out in the end."

Josie nodded. "So I guess now we know why Corrine and Marshall canceled their trip early," She said.

"We do?" Vaughn asked with confusion. Josie laughed, shaking her head. In some ways, Vaughn had never changed.

"I must have gone to Corrine for help … no doubt getting the number from Katrina."

"A memory?" Vaughn asked.

"No, just a hunch."

"You seem to be feeling better," Vaughn acknowledged.

Josie smiled softly. "I'm excited to see Corrine again. Maybe we can all discuss this together on the way back. That way we can be filled in on everything else."

"Maybe," Vaughn agreed.

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School had finally let classes out for the door, much to Finley's relief. He was looking forward to heading over to Douglas' to see if he had found anything of interest. He was really hoping there was some sort of answer to their problem. He quickly darted up to his room, dumping his back pack on the bed and changing out of his school uniform and into some warm and normal clothes. He then grabbed a warm coat and headed out of the room, marching towards the stairs when he ran into Josie.

The red-head blinked in surprise, as did Finley. "What are you doing?" Finley asked.

Josie rolled her eyes. "Just wandering the school waiting to go home," She replied.

"Well why don't you come with me," Finley said, continuing down the stairs. "Douglas skipped classes to check some stuff at his mom's place, and I'm really hoping he might have some answers."

"How could his Mom have any answers?" Josie asked, following quickly behind Finley.

"She's sort of into Quantum physics and stuff. Plus she's done a lot of research on time-travel," Finley explained.

"Why?" Josie asked.

"Just a hobby?" Finley lied. Josie picked up on the lie, but chose not to press further.

"So we're heading over to Douglas', then?" She asked, quickly throwing her hands in her pockets as they reached the brisk air outside. Finley nodded a reply. The two moved hastily across the grounds, noting a few other students wandering around, playing and such.

"When's Corrine supposed to be coming in?" Josie asked.

"I dunno," Finley said. "Dad said they would try and get here by the time classes ended, but I have a feeling they're going to be a little late. Dad has this major problem with getting ready on time. Not to mention he'd want to wait for Uncle Grant to show up at the resort. To explain things and such."

"It's really weird to hear you talk about Marshall like that - even weirder to think of them as all grown up, and with a kid." Josie said.

"You know, you could have kids," Finley said.

"I don't think so," Josie said, shaking her head. "I can't exactly picture myself as a Mom. It's just too weird."

"That's because you're still a teen," Finley replied.

"Can you picture yourself as married … as a parent?" Josie countered.

"Well, no," Finley reluctantly admitted. "But it can't be that bad. I'd be old enough to handle that kid of stress."

"You'd have gray hairs by the first week," Josie retorted. Finley started laughing.

"Probably. But I bet your future self could handle it."

"I really don't think so," Josie replied, not picking up on the hint.

"Okay," Finley said with a shrug. The two came upon the Randall house. Finley opened the door, unlocked as usual.

Josie frowned, following him inside. "You would think they'd be smart enough to keep their doors locked."

"Like his parents, Douglas is a little absentminded," Finley admitted. "They were both really intelligent, but when it came to common sense … sometimes they were a little out there. It's the same with Douglas. He could probably explain to you in-depth Einstein's EMC2 equation and its purpose, but he'd forget to set his alarm clock for school the next morning or something."

"Did Douglas get along with his Dad?" Josie asked quietly.

"Yeah, they were really close," Finley replied.

"Finn?" A voice called from up the stairs.

"Here! I'll be up in a minute," Finley called back. "Hey, why don't you go hang out in the entertainment room for a bit?" Finley suggested, turning back to Josie.

Josie frowned. "But I want to see if Douglas found anything," She said.

"Yeah, but I need to talk to Douglas for a couple minutes in private," Finley said apologetically. "I'll bet you'd like all the stuff in there."

Josie was going to protest, but decided against it. It wasn't exactly fair to intrude on a little privacy. She nodded reluctantly. "Fine, but only for a few minutes."

"Right," Finley said with relief. He quickly steered Josie upstairs and down a hallway into a large room filled with CD's, DVD's, a stereo set, big screen TV, and a ton of other electrical things for entertainment.

"Sweet system they've got here," Josie acknowledged.

"Thought you'd like it. I'll be back in a few minutes," Finley said, backing out of the room.

Josie stepped inside, looking around thoughtfully. Despite all the things they had to deal with, and the limited amount of time, Josie found herself relaxing in the state-of-the-art family room in Douglas' house, with all the amazing quality of future technology. She wandered around, checking out the amazing stereo system, before her eyes fell on the pile of CD's. She grinned, searching through them to find, amazingly, there were a lot of old volumes that she liked. She was even remotely surprised to see a collection of 'Magnet 360' CD's. There had to be at least fifteen there. She took the first couple Magnet 260's, and then some of the older stuff, and took a seat on the couch, opening them up and looking through the pictures and comments, reading through the lyrics. After looking through the Magnet 360's for a few minutes she turned to the older albums, stopping when she recognized one of them.

It was a CD that Corrine and Lucas had mixed for her after Corrine had accused her of being a kleptomaniac. Josie's eyes widened in disbelief, her fingers running over the cover art that Lucas had helped put together. There was no way this was a different CD. How was it possible that Douglas had this CD?

"Hey Mom," Someone said from the hall.

Josie's head snapped up with surprise at the voice. She turned to the doorway to catch a quick glimpse of red hair. She got up, confusion on her face, and approached the door, glancing out and seeing a young boy no older than fourteen continuing down the hallway with a game of sorts in his hand.

"Hey!" She exclaimed.

The boy stopped, and turned back to her. His eyes widened. "Whoa, who are you?"

"I could ask you the same. What are you doing in this house?" Josie demanded.

"I _live_ here," He replied. He started walking back to her, tucking the game in his pocket. He blinked. "You look just like my Mom … only younger." He seemed confused by the possibility. "What are you doing here?"

"Finley brought me over," Josie said slowly. "Who are you?"

"Douglas' younger brother. I'm Preston, nice to meet you," The boy said, holding his hand out. Now it was Josie's turn to look confused. She said nothing to him; not even bothering to shake the kid's hand.

Preston looked at her with utter confusion before having a coughing fit. "Who are you?"

"Josie Trent," Josie said uncertainly.

Preston blinked, and then shook his head. "There's no way you're Josie Trent."

"Why not?"

"For one thing … that's my Mom's maiden name. And while you may look a heck of a lot like her, there's no way possible you could _be_ her. You're too young," Preston said.

Josie's eyes widened in disbelief. For once, she was speechless.

"So who are you?"

"You said that … that I'm your mother, right?" Josie finally said.

"No, I said you looked exactly like my Mom did when she was younger. Which is weird in itself," Preston muttered under his breath.

"Okay, well if Josie Trent, err, Randall, I'm guessing, is really your mother, you must know about the wormhole, right?"

Preston just stared at her. "Wormhole?"

"The wormhole in the science lab at Blake Holsey?" Josie asked.

"First of all … I don't go to Blake Holsey. I was kicked out in my second week – Some people just can't take a joke. Second of all, there's no such thing as wormholes. Especially not in science labs."

"Josie!" A voice called. Josie and Preston both looked down the hall to where Finley was quickly approaching. He frowned when he realized who Josie was talking to. "What's going on here?" He asked slowly.

"Well my brother's nut-case friend is convinced there's a wormhole in the science lab over at your school," Preston said.

"You told him about the wormhole?" Finley exclaimed.

"I'm not Douglas' mother, am I?" Josie demanded.

"Will you listen to her? She's clearly crazy!" Preston exclaimed.

"I'm dead," Finley choked out. "Okay, uhh, Preston, maybe it's time we had a very important talk. And Josie … you should probably come too."

"This I'd like to hear," Josie said.

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Douglas looked up with confusion as Josie stomped into the room, followed by a nervous Finley, and a somewhat confused Preston. "What'd I miss?" He asked uncertainly.

"We have a bit of a problem," Finley said slowly.

"Douglas Randall, huh?" Josie asked.

"Look, I just want to know why you're hanging out with crazy people who look just like Mom, Dougie," Preston replied.

"I told you not to call me that," Douglas snapped. Then he turned to Josie. "This probably looks really bad, right?"

"No," Josie said with a sigh. "More like … very twisted."

"Okay, both of you, take a seat," Douglas commanded. They both did so with uncertainty.

"Preston knows about the wormhole," Finley added.

"Of course he does," Douglas said dully, knowing fully well that something like this would happen if the two had ever met up. Thus the point of never wanting her near his home since the younger brother was sick. He looked back at his brother and … mother, running his hand nervously through his hair. "Okay … Pres, this is Mom … from twenty-five years in the past."

"How stupid do you think I am?" Preston asked; his arms folded defiantly over his chest.

"It's the truth!" Douglas exclaimed. "She came through the wormhole."

"_What wormhole_?" Preston demanded.

"Ooh. Okay, bad time to show up," Katrina said, quickly turning to start out of the room.

"You three, get in here," Douglas commanded. Slowly Katrina, Nathaniel, and Jovee filtered into the room.

"This should be very interesting," Katrina said.

Preston stood up. "Clearly my brother's gone insane," he said, starting for the door. Jove stopped him, however.

"I think you should probably sit back down."

Preston did so, but not before throwing her a dark glare in everyone's direction.

"Alright. Maybe we should start from the beginning?" Douglas suggested, looking at Finley. It was Nathaniel who started up, though.

"You know how your Mom and Dad went to Blake Holsey when they were younger, right?" Nathaniel began.

"Yeah," Preston said slowly.

"And you know that Pearadyne is quite often involved with top secret programs?" Jovee added.

"_Yeah_?"

"Well Victor Pearson, Jovee's grandfather, was working on a very big experiment when there was an accident."

"This was when our parents were still little," Jovee said quickly.

"The accident at Pearadyne," Preston said dully. "Everyone knows about it."

"Yeah, well, very few people know that the project that went wrong was a time-travel project."

"…You can't be serious."

"He is!" Katrina exclaimed.

"The power was too much for the machine to handle, and the explosion occurred, taking out all of the original Pearadyne labs," Douglas continued.

"Long story short," Nathaniel interrupted. "When your parents were in High school Victor Pearson rebuilt the labs. Josie, Vaughn, Lucas, Corrine and Marshall, along with Professor Z, went through a lot of really weird happenings that happened at the school due to the research from Pearadyne. The biggest experiment that was going on was a time travel experiment using a floating ball Josie had lost in the past when she traveled back there with Vaughn. Victor Pearson had stolen it, and this fueled his research with the wormhole."

"He _what_?" Josie demanded. Nathaniel smiled sheepishly in her direction.

"Anyways, a lot of stuff happened before the science club was able to close down the wormhole after most research had been conducted. We don't need to go into great detail about that. When they closed the wormhole down, all weird energies, so to say, vanished. Until last year when somehow Microne – you remember Microne, right?"

Preston nodded, seeming wary of the whole thing, but also enthralled by the story.

"Well somehow Lucas, err, your Dad, was involved in everything, and he didn't exactly leave you guys like you were led to believe," Nathaniel finally said.

"What?" Preston demanded, jumping up.

Douglas stood in front of his younger brother. "Pres, Dad got lost when he went through the wormhole," He told him.

"You think it's funny to joke about something like that?" Preston demanded.

"It's the truth. I was there," Douglas snapped. "We all were. One minute he was standing there before us, and the next minute he'd gone through the wormhole. That was when Professor Z told us about everything that happened twenty-five years ago."

"If Dad really went through some stupid wormhole like you're trying to say, then how come you couldn't get him to come back?" Preston snapped.

"It's a bit more complicated then all that," Katrina said, stepping in. Meanwhile, Josie just sat there, everything revealed running through her head. She was married to Lucas. They had two kids … and one of them she'd been talking to as if he were her friend! And then Lucas … Lucas was gone?

Josie stood up, looking around. "Wait! Lucas went through the wormhole? He never came _back_?"

"Like Katrina said, it's all really complicated," Jovee said.

"No its not! If Lucas went through the wormhole, and he was my husband, I would have anything to get him back!" Josie shouted.

"You're all crazy," Preston said.

Josie glanced around the room, anger filling her. How could they all have kept something like this from her? "I won't let it happen," She vowed, backing out of the room. "I'm going back and I'll stop it."

"Josie!" Katrina called as Josie darted out of the room, running surprisingly fast.

Douglas started to go after him, but Finley stopped him. "She won't go anywhere," He said quietly. "Just give her some time to think."

"She's my Mom," Douglas snapped.

"Like you care about Mom," Preston said, watching his brother darkly. "You didn't even try to help her earlier today."

"I -," Douglas stammered.

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Josie darted past Professor Z, who dropped all his papers in surprise. He called after her, but she ignored him. She threw open the science office door and darted into the room, not exactly thinking, her mind too jumbled up to really think. Still, she knew she shouldn't have run out like that. She stopped in the middle of the room, taking in a few breaths of surprise. She tried to relax, but stopped when she found herself soon hurtling back through the wormhole.

She stopped inside the room, letting out a relieved breath. It didn't seem as if she had gone anywhere. She looked around, taking in the scenery. For a minute she thought with relief that she had gone home, but then she noticed the way things in the room seemed of old-fashion. She frowned, slowly opening the door and stepping out into the hallway. The halls were rather empty. She closed the door softly behind her, looking around. After a moment a person walked past her.

"Excuse me?" She called, quickly grabbing a hold of the person's jacket. She turned, looking warily at Josie. "Where is everyone?" She asked.

"Outside, no doubt," The woman replied. "The professor's demonstrating a new experiment."

"The professor?" Josie asked with confusion. The woman frowned, looking Josie over.

"Shouldn't you be out there as well? And what are you dressed in? Pants? My dear girl, what do you think you're doing?"

"I -," Josie said, glancing down at her clothes and then back at the woman with surprise.

"How improper," The woman continued.

"Uhh … what's the date?" Josie asked.

"Why, it's the sixteenth of March," She replied, seeming surprised by the question.

"Okay, don't mind how weird I probably sound, but … what's the year?" Josie inquired.

The woman frowned. "Now is this a game?" She demanded.

"No," Josie said quickly. "I just … I'm forgetful?"

"It's 1924," The woman said annoyance. "Now I must depart. Why don't you head out to the courtyard and view the professor's experiments with the other students."

"Okay," Josie said, frowning at how grouchy the woman seemed. She turned down the hallway away from the woman and started for the back doors. As she approached she could hear a voice explaining how the dust would propel the instrument into the air. Josie frowned, slipping outside and standing behind a couple of kids.

"Now it isn't exactly difficult to set this up. Just fill this little compartment with the gun powder, and allow this small bit of rope to extend from the cartridge."

"What's going on?" Josie asked the boy next to her.

"Professor's showing how to propel items into the sky," The boy said, sounding excited, he looked at Josie and frowned. "What are you wearing?"

"Daniel? Is there a problem?" The man at the front asked, looking up to check the small crowd. Josie stood on her tippy toes to get a look at this professor and his project, and almost gasped.

"Lucas?" She demanded incredulously. She pushed to the front of the crowd, staring at the man before her. She knew without a doubt that this had to be Lucas. He looked exactly like the man Lucas had grown into the year before when he'd caught the mayfly.

The man's eyes widened in surprise, and he dropped whatever was in his hand. "Josie?" He asked. He looked her over, and then looked back at her face.

"Do you know that girl, Professor Randall?" A girl asked from the side of the crowd.

"Uhh," Lucas said, unsure of how to answer that.

Josie raised her eyebrow. "Of course he knows me," Josie said, resisting the urge to call the girl a twit. She frowned, watching Lucas. "So this is where you've been?"

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked with confusion.

"You know exactly what I mean," Josie snapped. "You ditched your _family_ to become a professor?"

Lucas looked around at the students, clearing his throat and straightening up. "We will have to put this off for later, class. My acquaintance and I really need to have a discussion," He said.

The students grumbled, but quickly dispersed. Josie stepped up to the taller Lucas and frowned. Lucas, however, threw his arms around her in an awkward hug, for her, before stepping back. "How did you manage to get here?" He asked.

"I used the wormhole. Which makes me wonder why you never tried to," She said.

"I did try," Lucas said with partial annoyance. "At least a thousand times over the past year. That stupid thing wouldn't let me through." He pointed to the science office, and then frowned, looking back at Josie. "You can't be older than sixteen. How do you know about everything that's going on in the future?"

"I just came from there. Do you remember when I went to the future? And then came back saying I'd been to the future, but I couldn't remember much?" Josie asked, not waiting for him to reply, though he did manage a slow nod. "Well I just came from the future. The wormhole wouldn't open up to let me through to go home, but after I pretty much found out about my … future, it took me here."

"So you know … everything?" Lucas asked slowly.

"Enough to make me a little creeped out," Josie admitted. "But we should get you back."

"How do you even know it will open again?" Lucas demanded.

"Just a feeling," Josie said with a frown. "Come on."

"I can't exactly leave without an explanation," Lucas said.

"Don't you want to go home?" Josie asked.

"More than anything," Lucas confessed. "But I also have responsibilities here. I can't just give up my job to walk through a wormhole."

"Professor Middleton did it," Josie said. "I bet if we checked the history of Blake Holsey, it would show a certain Professor Randall being the first to vanish from the school. Besides, I think your family needs you."

Lucas nodded with a grin. "I can't wait to see them again," He said. "It hasn't been too long, has it?"

"A year," Josie admitted. "But Douglas and Preston really miss you."

Lucas started quickly for the science office, turning to look back at Josie. "What about you? Or, your future self, I should say."

"Of course," Josie said. When Lucas turned back around, Josie couldn't help but think, _I'm sure of it_.

"Professor Randall!" Someone called. The two turned to see the same boy, Daniel, step forward. He frowned at Josie again, and then looked at Lucas. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Lucas said slowly. "I'm just heading home."

"Oh, you can't go home, Mr. Randall," The boy said with surprise. "You actually make science interesting. When do you plan to be back?"

Josie and Lucas exchanged a look. Lucas nodded at Daniel. "I won't be coming back. No doubt you'll get a new science teacher. You'll tell the others I'll miss them, right?"

"Of course," Daniel said with a nod.

"I want you to keep your studies in science up," Lucas continued. "You have great potential to be a wonderful scientist."

The boy nodded, and turned away. "Goodbye, Professor Randall," He said.

Lucas gave a wave, and then turned to Josie, who seemed confused. "Why did you do that?" She asked.

"I didn't get to say goodbye to my family," Lucas said with a shrug, though Josie noticed the way his fists were clenched. "At least this way I get to say goodbye. That is, if the wormhole actually opens."

"It will," Josie said with confidence. The two stepped into the science lab. Lucas closed the door softly behind them and stared at the center of the floor.

"It's still moving," He said with surprise.

"Yeah," Josie said, seeming surprised also.

Lucas grinned. "I'd say that looks like remains of a wormhole," He said.

Josie smiled as well. "Let's go," She said, waiting for Lucas to step forward. Lucas hesitated only a moment before he stepped into the center of the room, the wormhole opening up and pulling him through. What surprised Josie was when it expanded and pulled her through as well.

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"She couldn't have gone through a wormhole," Preston insisted, frowning at Professor Z. "There is no wormhole there in the floor. See? Nothing!"

"She must have gone through," Z replied, looking at Douglas. "She ran in here and when I came in she was gone."

"She must have gone home," Douglas said. Jovee put her hand comfortingly on Douglas' shoulder, and he let her.

"Which is twenty-five years in the past, right?" Preston asked sarcastically.

"We're not lying to you," Finley said, rolling his eyes. "We don't exactly have any reason to."

"There's no such thing as wormholes!" Preston snapped. Seconds later energy crackled through the room and the wormhole opened up, Josie and Lucas landing there. The wormhole closed up again, leaving the two there.

Everyone stared in surprise at Lucas, dressed like a man of the twenties, and Josie standing beside him. When everything registered, though, Douglas and Preston both called out a, 'Dad!' simultaneously. They both encircled him, and he bent down, throwing his arms around them as well. Both the boys were tearing up as they held close to their Father who had been missing for their lives for a little over a year.

"Is that really …?" Jovee asked, sounding surprised as Katrina gave a shocked nod. Josie moved away from the group to give them a little space just as Vaughn stepped into the room, stopping so suddenly that those behind him walked right into him.

"What's going on?" A muffled voice asked from the back. Vaughn quickly moved out of the way, his eyes never leaving Lucas as Corrine and Marshall came in, Josie (Mrs. Randall) being last. She froze when she saw Lucas. He noticed her too, and stood up, waiting for her reaction.

She'd paled, and to her, everyone else in the room except Lucas had faded away. Her hand drifted to her lips in surprise.

"Lucas?" She asked, trying hard to believe it was all really happening. He gave a slight nod, unable to say anything.

Eyes tearing up despite how much she wanted them to, Josie quickly stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Lucas as she began to cry. "You're here, you're really here," She continued to murmur. Lucas relaxed in the embrace, and to everyone else who had seen them together, it seemed as if nothing had changed between the two.

It took a little while for everyone to calm down, and everyone had yet to really notice that Josie was still there, though she didn't dare interrupt. This was one home-coming that had taken too long.

After a while everyone settled down at the tables to catch up. Everyone was curious as to what had really happened the day Lucas had gone, and he explained it the best he could. The week before he'd left Collin Bush had approached him, threatening him. He told Lucas that he had a week to decide if he would help them open the wormhole, or else something would happen to his family. When it came time, he reluctantly helped them re-open the wormhole. However, they had betrayed him and that same day they opened the wormhole up when he was standing over it. He'd arrived at Blake Holsey in 1923 at the same time the old science professor chose to quit, so he'd taken the job and had taught there until Josie had come to get him.

Once he was caught up on everything as well, the group began to relax. Finally Jovee remembered Josie and looked over at her.

"Well everything seems to be in order, but how come Josie hasn't gone home, yet?" She asked. Everyone was surprised to remember the girl. Josie frowned, looking at her past self, while the teen shrugged.

"I think I'll stick around just a bit longer," Josie replied.

The others exchanged unsure looks, but Mrs. Randall met Josie's eyes, understanding Josie just wanted to stay to make sure everything was in order before she left.

AN: Just the epilogue left, guys. Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me thus far! I hope this chap was good enough, I enjoyed writing it – got it all done to day, actually, lol. I'm considering another story, though it won't have to do with any of the future science club members. It will have to do with everything at Blake Holsey getting exposed to the world, so if anyone's interested, let me know! One more chap left … hope to have it out by the end of the weekend, kay guys?


	12. Chapter 11

AN: Thanks to my reviewers, Hottietom, xSarah, punkqueen5, and Thesolitary-dragon

EPILOGUE

The music pounded through the old gym of Blake Holsey with a fast-paced beat. It was later that night, and Eiley had thrown together a surprise dance when he learned of Marshall and Corrine's visit to town. Now almost everyone was happily out on the dance floor. Vaughn and Dee were dancing together with large smiles on their faces. Vinny, who had taken Josie's words to heart and was now trying to get closer to his Father, was dancing with his younger sister, Vina. Lucas and Josie Randall, who were having trouble staying separated for long, were obviously dancing together beside Dee and Vaughn.

Finley, with a good nudge from Douglas and Nathaniel, had asked Katrina to dance, and the two were enjoying a few numbers out on the dance floor with the rest of the students. While Jovee danced by herself and occasionally with Katrina and Finley, the others, consisting of Josie Trent, Nathaniel and Douglas. Preston, although still slightly sick with a cold, was up on stage spinning records while celebrity and Blake Holsey graduate Marshall Wheeler and his wife, Corrine, had been begged by Eiley into singing. Despite their reluctance at the beginning, the two were having fun just like everyone else around.

Josie took in the whole scene, watching everyone finally seem happy. She let out a sigh while resisting the urge to pat herself on the back. "I'd say everything has turned out perfectly," She announced.

The two beside her nodded their heads, Nathaniel bobbing to the music while Douglas watched Jovee. Josie noticed the look, and smiled. As weird as it was, she was glad that Douglas – her son – had chosen Jovee. It was that obvious, and Josie had her suspicions long ago. Although it was weird to give her son any advice, she decided she would since she was in such a good mood. She turned to Douglas, but the boy beat her to it.

"I'm sorry we lied to you," He said, though he had to raise his voice a little so she would hear him over the music. Josie blinked in surprise. "I'm sure you understand why we did it, but it still wasn't fair to keep all that from you."

"I think it was easier to think of the situation without knowing the truth," Josie admitted. "It's a little weird. I really saw myself as never having children. Or getting married for that matter. I was really freaked, though."

"I know," Douglas said with a sigh, glancing back out on the floor. "Probably one of the reasons we didn't tell you."

"It's still pretty creepy, but I'm sort of proud," Josie said.

"Huh?" Douglas asked, looking back at Josie with confusion.

"I'm proud - of you. And Preston. I wish I could have gotten to know him a little better, though. I guess I still have plenty of time, of course. All in all, if I do get married and end up having kids, I'm glad you two were them."

"And I'm sure you're relieved about Lucas," Nathaniel added.

"Yeah," Josie replied. "I really like him, and to see the way we both seem so happy together … It's a better future than I would have hoped for."

"That's good to hear," Douglas said.

Josie grinned, and then looked at Jovee. "Hey, why don't you go and dance with her?" She suggested.

"Huh? Who?" Douglas asked, looking nervously back at Josie.

"Jovee," Josie replied.

Nathaniel chuckled. "And here I was thinking I was the only one who noticed," He said, taking a sip of his punch. "Honestly, Douglas, I think we've all waited long enough for you two to get together. It's like waiting for Katrina and Finley when you _knew_ they were going to get together eventually."

"Thanks," Douglas said with a scowl.

"Me and Finley had a bet going," Nathaniel continued. "Looks like I win, too. I said you and Jovee would hook up after he and Katrina, to which he denied saying there was nothing between he and Katrina. Oh, and you owe me twenty bucks because I was right when I said Finley and Katrina were crushing on each other. Forty dollars in one night; not too shabby."

"I haven't hooked up with Jovee at all."

"And you won't unless you go out there and ask her to dance," Josie insisted.

"Yeah, Douglas. And I want that twenty from Finley, so be a pal and ask Jovee to dance," Nathaniel finished.

"I don't know," Douglas said.

"She obviously likes you," Josie insisted. "And you obviously like her. Why beat around the bush? Go for it."

His face a slight shade of red, Douglas nodded and quickly moved out to the dance floor, Josie and Nathaniel watching.

Douglas took a nervous breath, stopping in front of Jovee. "Hey, Jovee," he said, clearing his throat. She stopped and looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue. He cleared his throat again. "I was wondering if you, umm, well, would you -."

"Wanna dance?" Jovee asked, holding her arms out. Douglas grinned, taking them. "Sure," He replied. The two quickly started moving around. Douglas let out a relieved breath.

"I was afraid you would say no," he admitted.

"I was afraid you came over to ask me something else. Something stupid, no doubt," Jovee replied. "So I went for it, hoping you'd say yes."

"Looks like we were both afraid for no reason," Douglas said. "I'm just confused. Why would you even like me when you're always trying to shoot me down?"

Jovee shrugged with a playful grin. "I always had a thing for geeks," She replied.

"Geeks, huh?" Douglas asked. "Maybe I should get a pair of glasses and steal Preston's inhaler."

"I think you're fine the way you are," Jovee laughed.

"I like you just the way you are, too," Douglas said. The two turned a slight shade of red, but with the truth out before them they began to loosen up.

Nathaniel sighed, looking at Josie. "I suppose there's no chance you'd dance with me," He said.

"I'm already taken," Josie reminded him.

The side door opened and a girl similar to Josie dressed identically to her stepped inside, looking around for a few minutes before noticing Josie and Nathaniel looking in the opposite direction. She grinned, and walked quickly to their side.

"Long time no see," She said next to Josie. The red-head looked up, startled.

"Me?" She exclaimed in surprise. Nathaniel turned around to see what Josie was talking about.

"Douglas never mentioned a twin," Nathaniel said with surprise.

"Clone, actually," Josie 2 filled in.

"So this is where you went after you wrote that letter?" Josie asked. "How did you get here? We were worried about you."

"The janitor," Josie 2 replied. "He's actually rather nice. I've been waiting almost two weeks for you to show up."

"What do you mean?" Josie asked with confusion.

"Say hello to Jade Trent," Josie 2 replied.

"Jade Trent, huh?" Nathaniel asked. "Wanna dance, Jade?"

"Sure!" Josie 2, or Jade, replied with a grin. She waved a quick goodbye to Josie and then followed Nathaniel out onto the dance floor.

Finley, who noticed the interaction, frowned, turning to Katrina. "I'm not the only one who sees two Josie's, am I?" He asked. Katrina laughed, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Her? She's just an 'old friend'," She replied with a laugh. Confused, but not wanting to say more, Finley let it drop with a shrug.

_Now_ everything seemed right in place. Josie smiled, though it seemed to be slightly saddened. If everything was perfect now, why did she feel so sad? Because she was ready to go home. She'd seen to everything being put right, and now she was ready to go. Still, she tried not to let it show, and she looked around at everyone once more. Her gaze drifted to the side doors, where the janitor was sweeping up what looked like nothing. He looked up, meeting Josie's eyes, and then turned and walked out of the room.

Determined to get some answers, Josie quickly followed him out. She stepped into the empty hallway and looked around with confusion.

"Hello?" She called. She turned the corner to see the janitor standing in the center of the hall, a wormhole open before him.

"You ready to go back home?" He asked her. Josie stepped up, looking into the wormhole.

"Yes," She said. She looked at the janitor. "Everything's the way it should be, isn't it?"

"Almost," he replied in his gruff voice. "All that's left is for you to go home."

"Who are you?" Josie asked. "How is it possible that you're everywhere at once … and able to open wormholes?"

"Another time," The janitor replied, gesturing to the swirling vortex.

Josie let out a frustrated sigh, and then walked into the wormhole. She vanished as the wormhole closed up around her. The janitor, broom in hand, turned back around and went into the gym.

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Josie arrived in the science room where Corrine, Marshall, Lucas and Z were waiting for her. They all looked up, startled by the rush of wind.

"Josie!" Corrine exclaimed as her best friend appeared in the room.

For a moment Josie seemed confused, looking around, and then she grinned. "I'm back!" She exclaimed joyfully.

"Where'd you go?" Lucas asked with worry.

"To the future," Josie said, frowning. "How long have I been gone?"

"An hour at most," Corrine replied.

"We were just trying to figure out a way to get the wormhole to open up again and bring you back when you came through," Marshall told her.

"An hour?" Josie asked with surprise. "I was there for a week!"

"What did you do?" Z asked. "While you were there?"

"Yeah, and how far did you go?" Lucas continued.

"I'm not sure," Josie replied. "Aside from that, all I remember is that I was there to do something, and I did it."

"You can't remember what happened?" Corrine asked with worry.

"Whatever it was, it's just good that your back," Lucas said, pulling Josie into a hug. She felt, for a moment, that it seemed familiar, but she passed the feeling off as the fact that she and Lucas hugged all the time. She was relieved to be home with her friends, and at that moment she didn't care about what had happened in the future. She was back, and that was all that mattered.

THE END

Hottietom: Yeah, I watch 'Life with Derek'. I thought it was cute with Shadia Simmons and Michael Seater. Definitely weird, though. My other screen name is 'Christine Marquez'. Thanks for the review!

xSarah: Yes! Lucas is back. I felt so happy writing it, too, lol. Thanks for the review!

Punkqueen5: Glad you like the story. Thanks for the review!

Thesolitary-dragon: Since I'm sure a lot of people shared the same questions as you, I put the answers on the next page, k: ) I missed Lucas, too, lol. Yeah, I was major excited to see Michael Seater on Disney - and Shadia Simmons, too. I tend to babble myself, but from the mouth, not writing, lol. Everyone gets ubber annoyed with me when I do. Doesn't bother me, though, so don't worry. Also, don't worry about sounding funky with pointing out all the plot holes. I would have explained everything myself, but I wasn't sure how to fit it all in there, so, yeah. Preston had to be my fav charac, and I'd been waiting since the whole story started to throw him in there, lol. I'll check out that story you mentioned. The reason why I don't read a lot of stories, though, is because I don't like a lot of them. Not saying my story is the best or anything. Hardly. It's just that there's not much to chose from, and a lot is V/J or slash, so it's hard to find one that I agree with is all. And yeah, def. see what you're saying about Camouflage. I noticed it too, which is one of the reasons I don't like Josie that much anymore … she's gotten a little stuffy, and she's SO mean to Lucas. Well … that's longer than I expected to write, but there you go. Thanks for the review!

Oh, and I write as 'Christine Marquez' for _Charmed_, _Underworld_, and _Van Helsing_ mainly, to anyone who was curious.


	13. Answered Questions

THANKS TO ALL MY READERS FOR BEARING WITH ME

Hottietom

Thesolitary-dragon

xSarah

Punkqueen5

Merlindamage

Chloeshelle55

Carshall

88Keyes

SunmeSD

Jarcielle36

Unleashmysoul

OthDegrassifan1817

Optimisticgirl94

And of course, thanks to everyone who read, even if they didn't review!

For anyone who had questions similar to those mentioned by Thesolitary-dragon, here are the answers:

Q's for Things Just … Pt. 1

Jovee, Douglas and Finley went into that past scenario at that time because it was when the wormhole opened up at that point and pulled them through. The wormhole only opens up when Microne is doing projects (in the future, anyways), but the energy of the wormhole and whatever force beyond decides when and where they go. Of course Jovee knew that you could influence the wormhole to go where you want, so she wanted to take Douglas to a time when he could see his Father, and of course when they got there Jovee had the idea to set his parents up sooner. She figured maybe if they altered the timeline, then Lucas wouldn't have gone through the wormhole, but lo and behold, it still happened.

Q's for Things Just … Pt. 2

Q1: Was Josie sent to the future to get Lucas?

A: Josie was indeed sent to the future to retrieve Lucas. The reason she didn't go back home right away after getting him was mainly my decision. I didn't want to end the story really abruptly like I did the last one. I wanted there to be a little more before she left, so even though she did leave without really being noticed, everything was set, and she was ready to go home.

Q2: Why was Lucas sent to 1923 of all places?

A: Lucas actually appeared in 1923 because I couldn't think of a better place to send him, lol. But yeah, he did have something to do there, which was to influence Daniel to become a scientist, and you'll find out about Daniel in the next story, because it does mention him for a bit.

Q3: Why did Microne chose Lucas to reopen the wormhole and how did they send him through?

A: Collin Bush chose Lucas to go to in order to reopen the wormhole because Lucas had the most knowledge about the wormhole. Also, he is Vaughn's partner at Pearadyne (meant to mention that, but slipped my mind, so here it is now). Since Vaughn has more power in Pearadyne than Lucas because he owns the establishment, even if they are partners, they went for Lucas. However, Lucas was planning to inform Vaughn of what had really happened, but Microne suspected it, and they waited until he was standing right over the wormhole to open it up.

Q4: Why were the Science Club in the room when Lucas disappeared?

A: It was actually Lucas going through the wormhole that brought all members of the science club together. They were all in there to talk with Z about a project they were working on, but Z was talking with Lucas and Collin Bush, so the others had to wait. Collin waited until Lucas was standing over the wormhole, and then alerted his assistant via a little red button (lol) that set off an alarm, so they knew to open it up. Douglas, Jovee, Finley, Katrina and Nathaniel all saw him go through, and it was the secret of the wormhole that brought them together as friends.

Q5: Why didn't Adult Josie try to get Lucas back?

A: Adult Josie did try to get Lucas back, but the wormhole would never open up for her. It only opened when Microne was doing experiments, and what with becoming a major workaholic, she was never around when it was actually open. Not to mention it just wasn't her place to bring Lucas back. It was just part of Josie's destiny (I didn't think the rest through, honestly. After all that, it sounded good to send Teen Josie back to get him)

Q6: Why was Josie there a whole week instead of a day?

A: Teen Josie was sent to the future because she had a few jobs to do there, actually. That's why she was there a week. First her appearance inadvertently helped Finley and Douglas cease their fighting. Then, since Douglas and Finley weren't fighting, the trip to Microne was organized, and eventually the virus was planted. Josie had the ability to get through to Vinny because she could really get him to think about everything Vaughn had been through before. Last, she had to retrieve Lucas. That in itself took a while because first they had to wait until the wormhole was no longer under the control of Microne. Then when that was done, Josie had to know the truth about Lucas; otherwise what would have been the point of bringing her to 1924 if she didn't know Lucas was there?

Q7: How does the wormhole work?

A: The wormhole opens in the future only if Microne opens it. However, if it was opened in the past, then the unnamed force controlling the wormhole had control, and could send people from the past anywhere. Therefore, if the wormhole opens in the future during 'Microne's reign', to put it simply, then it was because of influence from the past, and had nothing to do with Microne. But if the wormhole opened up and no one came through and pulled things in to it, then it was because Microne was using it. Does that make sense?

Q8: Preston?

A: I wanted to wait to bring Preston in so that everyone would be as surprised as Josie was. Although he is, in all actuality, my favorite character of my own creation, I had to wait. I did, however, hint at him every now and then, if anyone picked up on that. Preston was the sick kid at home that Josie had to care for, and Douglas only got sick after he had gone home and spent time with Preston. Every now and then people would look upstairs, or mention someone else, but they'd get cut off so it wouldn't give away too much. Also, Preston does not go to Blake Holsey, as mentioned, but he does go to Stonebridge Academy, which, if you remember, was where Josie was considering sending Douglas the next semester. Preston's more like Josie as a trouble maker, and obviously was kept out of the loop. This was because Josie didn't want another child becoming involved with the wormhole, so she felt it best to keep her youngest unaware of that. Instead they told him that Lucas had just left them, but didn't elaborate more than that.

Q9: Why doesn't Josie remember her trip to the future when she returns home?

A: Partly the reason why Josie doesn't remember much of what happened in the future agrees with the explanation she gave to Vaughn in the car. It was an unexpected side-effect of the wormhole. It was also because whoever is in charge of the wormhole didn't want her to remember everything because it would logically change future events. Therefore, Josie only remembered going to the future and having to do something because that way when things started coming together in the future, Josie would have a hunch of what happened, and would be unable to really change the timeline because it would be too late.

Q10: How come things that happened before were happening again?

A: Like Douglas theorized, all the strange events that occurred that had occurred in the past was because of Josie's influence from the past, creating almost duplicate situations, some with the same way to fix, and others with an entirely new way to settle things.

Q11: How does Josie 2 tie into everything?

A: Last but not least, the whole thing with Josie 2. Since the janitor said in season one that Josie 2 would be going to a place where there were friends and stuff, I decided to play off that and have her go to the future where the new science club is. Since Teen Josie introduced herself to everyone at the school as Jade Trent, Josie 2 took the part after Josie left, living as Jade Trent, Josie Randall's cousin. Now she has a future with friends, a family (of sorts as she lives with the Randall's), she attends Blake Holsey, and she's her own person now, not mistaken for Josie. Josie 2 had explained part of the plan to Katrina after she became human again, so Katrina and the janitor were the only ones who really knew.

If there are any other questions, either from this one or the first, leave a review with your email address and I'll try to answer them, okay?

NOTES ON THE NEW STORY:

I hope to have it up by the end of the week. Winces Yeah, I know, might seem like a while, but I can't exactly start it without my brother. Technically it was his idea, and he wanted me to write it, so I have to go over everything he thinks should happen in it, first. I may end up featuring the future science club for one chapter at least, just to appease anyone who liked them, lol. But it's mainly our good ol' science club, so you can expect it to follow the same basics from these past two … same couples and such. It will take place not too long after this one, but since Josie doesn't remember much of what happened in the future, it won't have much to do with these ones. Anyhoo, thanks again!


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